Lorius garrulus - Chattering Lory
Chattering Lory – Lorius garrulus (Linnaeus, 1758) – is a red parrot with green wings and short tail. It is relatively common in captivity.
Due to the nectar based diet you should provide a daily bath to keep the feathers clean. Also make sure to clean the cage/aviary regularly as lories can be very messy due to their nectar based diet! Also provide bird-safe flowering branches both for perching and chewing.
Longevity: 28 – 32 years.
Chattering Lory is listed on CITES Appendix II and EU Annex B.
It is categorized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
Description
Red body and head; green wings with yellow bend of wing; short red tail with dark green tip; green thighs; orange bill; orange/red eyes with grey eyering.
Length: 30 cm / 11.7″
Weight: 180 – 250 g
Habitat
Indonesia: The natural habitat includes various islands in the northern and north-central Moluccas.
They live in upland forrested areas up to 1300 m / 4264 ft.
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized:
- Lorius garrulus garrulus (Linnaeus, 1758) : Natural habitat includes the islands Halmahera and Widi in the northern Moluccas. Colors as described above.
- Lorius garrulus flavopalliatus (Salvadori, 1877) : Natural habitat includes the islands Kasiruta, Mandioli, Bacan, Obi and Obilatu in the north-central Moluccas. Similar to garrulus but with a yellow patch on the mantle and brighter green on wings.
- Lorius garrulus morotaianus (van Bemmel, 1940) : Natural habitat includes the islands Morotai and Rau in the northern Moluccas. Similar to flavopalliatus but yellow patch on mantle is less extensive and duller yellow washed with green; darker green on wings.
Diet
Wild birds feed on nectar, pollen, flowers and fruits.
Lories have a specialized brush-tipped tongue used for feeding on nectar and soft fruits. The main part of their diet should be based on a premade nectar replacement supplemented with various fresh fruit and vegetables, e.g. apples, banana, cactus fruit, orange, spinach, silverbeet
Aviculture
Chattering Lory are easy to breed; they reach sexual maturity at 2 – 3 years of age. As males and females look alike you may need DNA or endoscopic sexing to determine the gender.
Use a diagonal box about 40 x 20 x 30 cm (16″ x 8″ x 12″) as nesting box.
The clutch usually contains 2 eggs, that are incubated for 26 days; the chicks reach fledging age after 10 – 11 weeks.
Taxonomy
- Order: Psittaciformes
- Family: Psittaculidae
- Genus: Lorius
Synonyms
- Danish: Gulskuldret Lori, Gulrygget Lori
- English: Chattering Lory
- French: Lori noira, Lori noir, Lori des Moluques
- German: Prachtlori, Gelbmantelllori
- Portuguese: Lóris-amor-amor
- Spanish: Lori Gárrulo, Tricogloso Gárrulo
- Scientific: Lorius garrulus, Lorius garrula, Psittacus garrulus, Domicella garrula
IUCN Red List
BirdLife International 2017. Lorius garrulus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22684581A117219105.
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22684581A117219105.en
Accessed on 12 March 2022
