Rainbow lorikeet,
Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus
(Gmelin, 1788) Psittacidae
(Alecto Facsimile Edition - Plate 24)

BAU26

$750.00

26. Rainbow Lorikeet. Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus (Gmelin, 1788) [W,P&M]
340 x 510 mm
Bauer has painted a pair of these birds perched on a branch. By showing them in different
postures he has been able to demonstrate the vivid colouration of the plumage of the underwing
and ventral surface for which the species is renowned. Bauer has deliberately drawn the tongue
protruding from one bird to show its unusual brush-like structure for the collection of nectar and
pollen. The birds were shot at Port Phillip (the site of Melbourne) in Victoria on 30 April 1802 but
the occasion was not without some anxious moments, as Matthew Flinders described in his
diary: “… Three natives having made their appearance abreast of the boat, we again landed. They
came to us without hesitation, received a shag and some trifling presents with pleasure, and
parted with such of their arms as we wished to possess, without reluctance. They afterwards
followed us along the shore; and when I shot another bird, which hovered over the boat,
and held it up to them, they ran down to the water side and received it without expressing either
surprise or distrust …”
Today, Rainbow Lorikeets are found in South Australia, Tasmania, and eastern Australia.
They live in flocks and often travel long distances seeking tree blossoms. They nest in holes in
trees.
W&M : 321, 340; W,P&M : 74-5; Cayley : 170; Norst : 81