The lost lorikeet in today’s Canberra Times is a Rainbow Lorikeet. I feel that the small population of Rainbow Lorikeets in Canberra, which are primarily on the north side, have all come from aviary escapees and not genuine wild birds. Virtually all the Rainbow Lorikeets I have seen in Kaleen have been aviary escapees; they are relatively easy to pick by their behaviour. “Rainbow Lorikeets are nomadic, their presence or fluctuations in numbers in any area being governed by the flowering of trees and shrubs”[ Forshaw 1992, Australian Parrots]. I doubt very much that there is a year round supply of nectar available here unless the birds are being deliberately fed a la Currumbin in Queensland. If they are wild birds why are they here year round and why in such a relatively small area? In southern Western Australia they have exploded in numbers. Why has it taken so long for these birds to build into the low numbers now seen in Canberra?
The same goes for the (?) former population of Blue-billed Ducks on the Fyshwick Sewage Ponds. After asking a few questions of people in the know (there are several duck experts locally) I am now 99% certain they were “aviary” bred and released on the ponds. Why have they never been recorded away from Fyshwick?
I’ll be interested to see people’s comments!
Mark
From: Philip Veerman [
Sent: Friday, 30 September 2011 11:56 AM
To: 'Canberra Birds'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] lorikeet
Yes we should remain aware of the existence of escaped birds. What species of Lorikeet would that be? I would suggest instead it would be more correct to say so any sightings may not be of a 'wild' bird. That on the unlikely possibility that this escaped bird is seen, relative to the known small existing wild population of Rainbow Lorikeets.
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael and Janette Lenz [
Sent: Friday, 30 September 2011 10:12 AM
To: chat line
Subject: [canberrabirds] lorikeet
In today's CT newspaper a lost notice for a lorikeet at Evatt - so any sightings would not be of a 'wild' bird.
