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Trichoglossus

The Trichoglossus genus includes several lorikeet species and subspecies, that are distributed widely through several islands including Australia, New Guinea, Phillipines, Lesser Sundas, Sulu Islands, Sulawesi, Moluccas and Papuan Islands.

There have been some confusion about the classification; this is especially true for the species  Trichoglossus haematodus,  which was previously believed and generally accepted to contain several subspecies, but recent studies have promoted many of theseto separate species. Also some sources categorize the related species in the Psitteuteles genus as included in Trichoglossus.

These lorikeets have a very special tongue with several small hairs at the tip of the tongue, that are used for gathering pollen and nectar from flowers. The scientific name Trichoglossus is inspired by the ancient greek "tricho" and "glõssa" meaning "hair-tongue". Due to their special diet needs these lorikeets can be a little messy which should be considered especially if planning on keeping them indoor in a cage.

They are very beautiful with bright colours, and are also very playful, which make them very popular as pets or in aviculture.

All Trichoglossus species has an orange/red beak. Some species (e.g. Scaly-breasted Lorikeet) are mostly green while other are way more colourful (e.g. Rainbow Lorikeet and Coconut Lorikeet).

 

Trichoglossus capistratus
Marigold Lorikeet

 

Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Trichoglossus euteles
Olive-headed Lorikeet

Trichoglossus flavoviridis
Citrine Lorikeet

Trichoglossus forsteni
Sunset Lorikeet

Trichoglossus haematodus
Coconut Lorikeet

Trichoglossus johnstoniae
Mindanao Lorikeet

Trichoglossus moluccanus
Rainbow Lorikeet

Trichoglossus ornatus
Ornate Lorikeet

Trichoglossus rosenbergii
Biak Lorikeet

Trichoglossus rubiginosus
Pohnpei Lorikeet

Trichoglossus rubritorquis
Red-collared Lorikeet

Trichoglossus weberi
Leaf Lorikeet

Photo credits:

  • Scaly-breasted Lorikeet : Murray Hubbard
  • Coconut Lorikeet : Benjamin

All Species & Subspecies

  • Trichoglossus capistratus (Bechstein, 1811) - Marigold Lorikeet
    • Trichoglossus capistratus capistratus (Bechstein, 1811)
    • Trichoglossus capistratus flavotectus (Hellmayr, 1914)
    • Trichoglossus capistratus fortis (Hartert, 1898)
  • Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus (Kuhl, 1820) - Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus euteles (Temminck, 1835) - Olive-headed Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus flavoviridis (Wallace, 1863) - Citrine Lorikeet
    • Trichoglossus flavoviridis flavoviridis (Wallace, 1863)
    • Trichoglossus flavoviridis meyeri (Walden, 1871) 
  • Trichoglossus forsteni (Bonaparte, 1850) - Sunset Lorikeet
    • Trichoglossus forsteni forsteni (Bonaparte, 1850)
    • Trichoglossus forsteni djampeanus (Hartert, 1897)
    • Trichoglossus forsteni mitchellii (Gray, GR, 1859)
    • Trichoglossus forsteni stresemanni (Meise, 1929)
  • Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) - Coconut Lorikeet
    • Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771)
    • Trichoglossus haematodus deplanchii (Verreaux, J & Des Murs, 1860)
    • Trichoglossus haematodus flavicans (Cabanis & Reichenow, 1876)
    • Trichoglossus haematodus massena (Bonaparte, 1854) 
    • Trichoglossus haematodus nesophilus (Neumann, 1929)
    • Trichoglossus haematodus nigrogularis (Gray, GR, 1858)
  • Trichoglossus johnstoniae (Hartert, 1903) - Mindanao Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus moluccanus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) - Rainbow Lorikeet
    • Trichoglossus moluccanus moluccanus (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
    • Trichoglossus moluccanus septentrionalis Robinson, 1900
  • Trichoglossus ornatus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Ornate Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus rosenbergii (Schlegel, 1871) - Biak Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus rubiginosus (Bonaparte, 1850) - Pohnpei Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus rubritorquis (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) - Red-collared Lorikeet
  • Trichoglossus weberi (Büttikofer, 1894) - Leaf Lorikeet