The Little Lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla) is a species of parrot in the Psittaculidae family. It is endemic to Australia. It is a small parrot, predominantly green in plumage with a red face. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
They can be very hard to photograph as they tend to stay high up in trees and blend in well with the foliage but I finally got a decent shot in Durikai National Forest, near Karara.
They have a large range on the eastern side of Australia. I have seen them at Woodlands near MEL, several reserves in the Brisbane area and at Durikai National Forest.
The Red-rumped Parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), also known as the red-backed parrot or grass parrot, is a common bird of south-eastern Australia, particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin. The red-rumped parrot was described by John Gould in 1838 and is the type species for the genus Psephotus. It was long presumed to be closely related to the mulga parrot, however analysis of multiple genetic material shows it to be an early offshoot of a group containing the genera Platycercus and Barnardius.
At Lake Coolmunda, male Red-rumps were out foraging in all their glory but I struggled to get a good shot of a female. I found this nesting pair near Karara but the lighting was bad.
They have quite a large range in south-eastern Australia. I have personally seen them at Woodlands Park, Melbourne, Bowra Station, Lake Coolmunda, Karara and around SEQ in general.
This clip has excellent close ups of both male and female and you can really see the difference. You can also hear their call and watch them forage in the grass.
The Australian magpie (Cracticus tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It’s virtually impossible to visit Australia and NOT see a magpie or “Maggie” as we call them. They are literally everywhere, especially in the major cities. They await you at picnic sites hoping to steal your food. They will swoop on you in breeding season if they think you are a threat to their chicks. They can be annoying if you are trying to photograph other birds and the maggies are scaring them off. But they do have a beautiful melodious warbling sound, it’s one of the first sounds I hear when I wake up in the morning though it is not loud enough to actually WAKE me up!
Don’t worry about trying to find Australian Magpies. In most places in Australia, they will find you!
Magpie Alert – good map showing swooping hotspots! I can see reports in a few streets near me – mostly attacking cyclists. My husband says he was swooped once while on a walk.
Trust me, this is only a small bit of their song, it really is beautiful!
Amazing footage of a swoop on a cyclist from the cyclist himself!
He later appeared on the local news.
And here is a swoop from a spectator point of view, the guy’s Mom really freaks out!
This maggie clearly doesn’t like the postman, maybe he got too many bills that day?
Maybe it’s better to make friends with them!
I don’t approve of allowing cats outdoors where they can kill wild birds. Magpies are extremely clever and seem well in control of this situation but other small song birds wouldn’t have been so lucky.
And I’ll leave you with this adorable clip of a juvenile maggie singing to some rainbow lorikeets!
The Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna) is a lorikeet, one of the three species of the Glossopsitta genus. It inhabits south-central/eastern Australia. The musk lorikeet was first described by ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as Psittacus concinnus, from a collection in the vicinity of Port Jackson in what is now Sydney.
All the photos in this post were taken by me in Melbourne.
Musk lorikeets are found in eastern New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. I have personally seen them at Woodlands Historic Park near the Melbourne International Airport, near Cambridge Airport in Hobart and several places in South-east Queensland. Airline miles can get you to any of these places in Australia. They are easily recognized by the red-streak across their face covering their eyes. I called it “war paint”!
One doesn’t usually associate birding with Australia’s cosmopolitan 2nd largest city but you would be surprised! After doing some research online, I decided it was worth taking a red-eye from Perth to Melbourne to allow about 6 hours to explore near MEL before the onward flight to Hobart. Less than 15 minutes from the airport is the Woodlands Historic Park with a very impressive bird list!
.
We got a taxi to drop us approximately where the red dot is and started walking with eyes and ears wide open.
Walking down a small lane, we spotted a tree full of Musk Lorikeets with a few Little Lorikeets and possibly Purple-crowned Lorikeets as well (hidden in the foliage).
Common Myna
Common Starling
We were really lucky to see a small flock of Red-rumped Parrots at a nearby farm! It was pretty had to get a decent shot of them in the tall grass.
After a successful birding excursion I used my new Uber app to get back to the airport where we boarded a Red-tailed Qantas bird to Hobart, Tasmania.
This is a very clever way to get “normal” tourists in a more eco-tourism frame of mind. I got this email yesterday. Visiting the penguins at Philip Island is a very popular day trip for anyone visiting Melbourne, Australia so it’s nice that this tour operator – AAT Kings is helping to conserve them!
Adopt a Little Penguin
at Phillip Island and AAT Kings will pay half of the adoption fee*
AAT Kings, along with our sustainable tourism partner The TreadRight Foundation are proud to work with Phillip Island Nature Parks to aid the protection and preservation of Victoria’s coastal wildlife. With a grant of $95,000 over two years, AAT Kings will contribute to continued research and management of Australia’s most famous colony of Little Penguins.
When you book an AAT Kings Phillip Island Day Tour, you too can contribute to the Penguin Foundation’s work in research and conservation by adopting a Little Penguin.
Read more about TreadRight,
our sustainable tourism partner.
$75 Adopt a Penguin Package
Pay only $37.50*
Includes
Penguin Foundation membership
Plush penguin toy
Penguin Foundation adoption certificate
Amazing Penguin fact sheet
Personalised thank you card and photo
Penguin Foundation’s e-newsletter
Complimentary Penguin Parade ticket
An exclusive invitation to the
Penguin Foundation Members’ Open Day
They have a large range on the eastern side of Australia. I have seen them at Woodlands near MEL, several reserves in the Brisbane area and at Durikai National Forest.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LITTLE LORIKEETS
