Red Lorry and Rainbow Lorikeet

There are four subspecies of the Red Lory: Eos bornea bornea - the nominate subspecies, Red Lory Eos bornea rothschildi, Rothschild's Red Lory Eos bornea bernsteini, Bernstein's Red Lory Eos bornea cyanonothus, Buru Red LoryThe Red Lory is sometimes referred to as the Mollucan Lory.
Lories are popular companion birds and are quite easily bred. They are entertaining birds, with many unique behaviors. Some have been known to wrap up in a wash cloth for sleeping. At times, they will sleep on their back, with feet straight in the air. Very intelligent and trainable, they can be taught tricks and can be trained to eliminate in a certain area, on cue. Playful by nature, lories appreciate many toys, including ropes, bells, balls, and swings with variety being the key. They can, however, become quite possessive of their toys, and are capable of delivering a painful bite if their territory and possessions are not respected.
In the wild, lories feed on nectar, pollen, fruits, and the occasional insect. All lories have a tongue that is specially adapted with a brush-like tip composed of elongated papillae. This feature enables the birds to collect pollen from flowers and compress it into a form suitable for swallowing. They play a major role in the pollinating of trees and flowering plants in their native Indonesia coastal and mountain forests.

Rainbow lorikeets distribution is mainly over the north-east in AustraliaTheir habitat ranges from forests of all sorts (heathlands, open forests, rainforest, sclerophyll forest) coastal or inland, to any area including urban areas that have suitable trees, These birds are normally found in flocks, large flocks at night roosting in trees (thousands) but during the daytime they move and feed in much smaller flocks ranging up to 20 odd birds Late evening you may see larger flocks as they head towards their roosting site They are arboreal, which means they like trees, and can be very noisy, active, gregarious (sociable) and are often seen in the company of other birds They will spend long times feeding in trees but in hot conditions will have an afternoon break from feeding

These birds spend a lot of time feeding and most of their food comes from trees. Flowers, pollen, nectar, blossoms mainly from (Myrtaceae, Proteacea, Eucalyptus, Xanthoroaceae ,Banksia, Melaleuca, Callistemon), berries and fruits, so they can be a pest to suburban and commercial fruit tree growers Rainbow Lorikeets have tiny hair like appendices on the end of their tongue, to help extract nectar etc. For harder fruits or seeds, they grate the fruit inside their beak or roll the fruit with their tongue against the inside of their beak Whilst feeding because of the good grip they can get with their claws they can be observed hanging upside down etc to feed. They occasionally feed on insects and larvae They obtain moisture from water trapped in leaves, but can also drink water directly.

Rainbow lorikeets after 2 years reach sexual maturity and breeding occurs normally in the spring time with these birds paring up for life The nest is located in a tree hollow, knot hole or cavity high up and is lined with wood dust. 2 white oval eggs are normally laid and takes 25 to 26 days to hatch whilst the female incubates Both parents help to feed the young which fledge in 50 to 55 days Birds reach sexual maturity after two years

Umbrella Cockatoo

The Umbrella Cockatoo or White Cockatoo, Cacatua alba, is endemic to the islands of Central and Northern Moluccas (aka Maluku Islands) - Bacan, Halmahera,, Tidore and Kasiruta - in Indonesia.
Although the umbrella cockatoos is not classified as an endangered species it is classified as vulnerable. It numbers in the wild have declined owing to habitat loss and illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. It is listed in appendex 2 of the CITES list of protected species. This gives it protection by making the trade of wild caught birds illegal.

Rainbow Lorikeet

The Rainbow Lorikeet is very colourful - almost every colour of the rainbow can be found on their feathers. They are not large birds, with a Rainbow Lorikeet's length ranging from 25–30 cm (9.8-11.8 in) in size, and have a wingspan of about 17 cm (6.7 in). The markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus are particularly striking. The features distinguishing a Rainbow Lorikeet include a dark blue or violet-blue head and stomach, a bright green back, tail and vent, and an orange breast and beak. Several subspecies have darker scalloped markings across the orange or red breast.
Rainbow Lorikeets often travel together in pairs and occasionally respond to calls to fly as a flock, then disperse again into pairs. Rainbow Lorikeet pairs defend their feeding and nesting areas aggressively against other Rainbow Lorikeets and other bird species. They chase off not only smaller birds such as the Noisy Miner, but also larger and more powerful birds such as the Australian Magpie.

Palm Cockatoo

Palm Cockatoo

Palmer
Scientific name: Probosciger atterimusFamily: CacauatuidaeOrder: PssitaciformesClass: Aves
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
The weight of the female Palm Cockatoo is between 500-950 grams, and the males weigh between 540-1100 grams. Both females and males height range from 49-68 centimeters. The wings are about 35.1 centimeters, the tail about 23.8 centimeters, the bill about 9.1 centimeters, and the tarsus about 3.5 centimeters. These Palm Cockatoos are very large birds. They are the second largest flying parrot after the hyacinth macaw.
The scientific name is derived from both Greek and Latin. Proboscis is Greek for nose, gero is Greek for carry, and atterimus is Latin for black. Most Palm Cockatoos are dark gray and black with a cheek-patch of bare red skin . The cheek skin color may change according to their level of stress, it may change pink or beige if it is stressed, or if it is excited it will turn yellow. Palm Cockatoos have a very strong mandible, which they use for cracking nuts.
DISTRIBUTION and HABITAT:
The Palm Cockatoo originated in New Guinea, Australia. It is also known to occur in the Aru Islands, Misool Isle in the Western Papuan Islands, West Irian, Southern New Guinea from Merauke east to the Gulf of Papua, and in Australia on the Cape York Peninsula in the Northern Territory. The Palm Cockatoo usually resides in rainforests. The Palm Cockatoo has three subspecies. The first one is the P.a. atterimus, which is from Misool, Aru, and Northern Australia. The second one is called P.a. goliath, which is from the Papuan Islands, and West Irian extending out to Southeastern Papuan. This is the largest subspecies of the Palm Cockatoos. The third subspecies is P.a. stenolopus, which is from New Guinea and West Irian.
BEHAVIOR:
Most captive birds behave differently from wild birds. Captive birds tend to display compulsive movements, and motions which they will continuously mimic. Territories are formed at tree top where nests occur. Palm Cockatoos, like many parrots, have the ability to learn and mimic the human voice. Cockatoos enjoy spending their days in the trees, digging up things, and foraging for fruits or whatever else they might find to eat. Palm Cockatoos are usually in pairs, but maybe found singlely or in groups of five to six. Sometimes the Palm Cockatoos gather and engage in social interactions such as preening, forming displays, and just calling out to one another.
DIET:
Palm Cockatoos sometimes feed on seeds and fallen fruits that they may find, but they would rather eat plants than fruits. They also eat insects, and insect larvae. Berries are common fruit that the Palm Cockatoos consume.
BREEDING and NESTING:
When male Palm Cockatoos are ready for courtship, they will display their beautiful feathers by stretching them to their full height, and approach the female, while calling to them at the same time. The age of maturation in the Palm Cockatoo is about four years old. The Palm Cockatoos lay only one egg per year. It takes anywhere from 30-35 days for their eggs to hatch, and the chick needs between 70-100 days before they are able to become almost the same height and weight of their parents. The chick will not emerge from its nest until approximately 100-110 days. About two weeks after leaving its nest, the chick still is not able to fly and is forced to depend on its parents for another six weeks.
Wild Population:
The Palm Cockatoo has been listed on CITES Appendix I since 1987 and may not be exported without permits.
Suggested Reading:
Rogers, Cyril. Parrot Guide. Neptune City, New Jersey. T.F.H. Publications Inc., 1981.
Vriends, Matthew. Popular Parrots. New York, NY. Howell Book House, 1983.
Caris, Thomas. The Palm Cockatoo. 1999&2000 www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~thcaris/palm.htm
Taylor, Mike. Palm Cockatoo SSP Husbandry Manual. 2000. www.funnyfarmexotics.com/PALM/paintro.htm