scouler wrote:
But perhaps the "musky odour" emanates from conditions in the nesting
hole rather than from the birds themselves. Joseph Forshaw in
"Australian Parrots" (2nd edition (1981) at p. 50 , noting the received
wisdom as ro the origin of the bird's name, comments that in handling
live Musk Lorikeets he has never noticed that they smelt any differently
from other parrots.
Perhaps an aviculturalist or a zoo-keeper could comment further.
I have handled many Musk Lorikeets, and have only rarely noticed any musky
smell, which I have usually put down to the type of foods they are fed when
domestically raised. Other Lorikeets, especially Rainbows, can sometimes
have a similar faint odour.
The Australian parrot with a distinctive odour is the Crimson-wing Parrot,
which has a very noticeable musky smell in almost all that I have handled.
In this case it is not a dietary cause - other birds with an identical
diet have no smell - and I have no idea just why Crimson-wings have a musky
smell.
cheers,
Mike Owen
Sunshine Coast
Qld.
Australian Representative
World Parrot Trust
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