RE: Scaly-breasted lorikeets

Some Victorian distribution information on Scaly-breasted Lorikeets.

The following is extracted from the Atlas of Victorian Birds (1987, p. 146):

'Scaly-breasted Lorikeets are inhabitants of coastal plains and adjacent tablelands  from Cape York Peninsula to the Illawarra district (south of Wollongong, NSW).'

'In Victoria, birds that escaped from aviaries during the early 1970s have become established in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne and on the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas.'

'The small Victorian population is sedentary, moving only locally in relation to availability of food.'


Current information (2005) held in the Atlas of Victorian Wildlife (AVW) supports these findings, with a few odd records from Shepparton and the Gippsland Lakes.  There are currently no records of the species from anywhere in north west Victoria.

I encourage all observers of Victorian birds to submit any records they have, especially of rare or threatened fauna, to the Atlas so we can keep track of our wildlife.  The AVW can be contacted via email at: 

cheers, Martin

Martin O'Brien
Threatened Species & Communities Section
Department of Sustainability and Environment
2/8 Nicholson St. (PO Box 500), East Melbourne  3002

Tel: 9637 9869