Fairy Lorikeet

Charmosyna pulchella

18 cm.. length and a weight between 24 and 34 g..

The head of the Fairy Lorikeet (Charmosyna pulchella) is dark red with the back of the crown Black extending from above and behind the eyes up to the nape. Mantle Green with a black area below the nape and collar of color red dark at the height of the shoulders; under the back It shows a patch of dark violet interspersed with some green feathers on the ends; rump and tail coverts view from above of color green.

Wings Green with extremes of color black in them flight feather and in the internal parts of the coats. below the wings Red with coverts marginal green; flight feather blackish.

The underparts Red with stripes of pale yellow in the center of the chest, the thighs purple with yellow stripes. The tail view from the top of green at the top with a black shaft in the Center and the rest of red and yellow at the tip; view from below, the tail is yellow, bathed in red and green ends.

The bill is orange with gray tip; irises yellow red; legs oranges.

The female shows a color green beige, not red, on the sides and a yellow patch in the flanks that extends to the sides of the rump.

The female of the subspecies Rothschildi also shows more green in the underparts males and a green mottling on the upper part of the chest.

The Immature They show the yellow patch of the flanks more defined than the females. The lower part of the back, mainly green with some blue-violet. Top of the chest Green mottled without clearly defined yellow stripes adult. Crown Red with black patch restricted to the nape and mixed with the green of the upper mantle. Lack of the Red of the part back from neck clearly defined in adults. Yellow area at the bottom of the flight feather. Iris brown. Beak and feet grayish brown.

There are two subspecies including the nominal. A third, Charmosyna pulchella beautiful, described by Devis (1900), is considered here as Charmosyna pulchella pulchella.

• Charmosyna pulchella pulchella

  : (Gray,GR, 1859) – The nominal




• Charmosyna pulchella rothschildi

  : (Hartert, 1930) – The patch of the crown descends to find is with them eye; Green fusion behind the yellow lines of the chest, and green fusion in the flanks and the thighs (that can also show some yellow stripes); without the Red of the neck and much less defined the violet patch in the lower part of the back.

Nomads. They are mainly distributed in montane forests, at the edges of forests and secondary growth forests. Its preferred habitat are the mountains between 500 and 1.800 m, but also found in lowlands up to the level of the sea and in the mountains up to 2.300 m.

Found in pairs or flocks of 15 or more members, uniting in the tops of trees in flower with others Charmosyna lorikeets, including the Josephine's Lorikeet.

In captivity it nests continuously, with incubation of 25 days shared by both parents. Usually, It lays two eggs in a hole in the base of one epiphyte. In nature it is intended that nests between January and April (Pratt picked up breeding males in March).

It feeds on pollen and nectar.

The Fairy Lorikeet is distributed between New Guinea in Irian Java (Indonesian) and Papua New Guinea, from the East of Vogelkop to the peninsula of Huon. Owen Stanley mountains and southeastern intervals.

• Charmosyna pulchella pulchella

  : The nominal




• Charmosyna pulchella rothschildi

  : The mountains Cyclops and the slope North of the mountains on the idenburg river (Irian Java).

• Current IUCN Red List category: Least concern.

• Population trend: Stable.

The world's population has not been quantified, It is thought that it surpasses the 500.000 birds. the species, according to information, is abundant in some areas, but few in others due to the trade (pit et to the., 1997). Suspected that the population is stable in the absence of evidence of any reduction or substantial threats.

A small number of captivity.

– Fairy Lorikeet, Little Red Lorikeet, Little Red Lory (ingles).
– Lori féérique, Lori à croupion noir, Lori féerique, Loriquet à croupion noir (French).
– Goldstrichellori (German).
– Lori Lindo (español).

– Order: Psittaciformes
– Family: Psittaculidae
– Scientific name: Charmosyna pulchella
– Citation: Gray,GR, 1859
– Protonimo: Charmosyna pulchella

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“Fairy Lorikeet” (Charmosyna pulchella)

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