In response to Peter Fuller's and also Steve Clark's (March 2000) request
for thoughts on the status of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets in Victoria I offer
the following observations.
The old Atlas of Victorian Birds (1987) shows just eight 5 minute grid
cells for the species occurrence in the state up to that time. The areas
the species occurred in up to the late 1980s were the eastern suburbs of
Melbourne and small areas of the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsula's.
Current (2004) data for the taxon from the Atlas of Victorian Wildlife
however, shows 38 x 5 minute grid cells covering (a much larger part of)
the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsula's,
South Gippsland, Phillip Island and a single grid cell for what appears to
be Raymond Island near Paynesville Gippsland Lakes.
The species is apparently expanding its range in Victoria, with a number
of grid cells indicating very recent records for the state. The Atlas of
Victorian Birds notes that '...birds that escaped from aviaries during the
early 1970s have become established...' and 'In these suburbs they occur i
lightly wooded areas, particularly among Coast Banksia or Snow Gums, and in
suburban gardens and parks where large-flowered ornamental eucalypts have
been planted.'
cheers, Martin
Martin O'Brien
Executive Scientific Officer, Scientific Advisory Committee
Department of Sustainability and Environment
4/250 Victoria Pde. (PO Box 500), East Melbourne 3002
Tel: 9412 4567 Fax: 9412 4586
(prefixes: Interstate 03 International 613)
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