Little Lorikeet
The little lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla) is a tiny green lorikeet with a black bill and a red patch covering the forehead and throat but not ear coverts. The sexes are alike. They eye is orange/yellow, the legs are grey-green. It is one of the smallest parrots and is often hard to see as it forages mouselike in foliage and blossoms for nectar, pollen and native (and sometimes cultivated) fruits and seeds.
The little lorikeet has bullet-like flight with rapid wing beats, displaying yellow-green underwing, which distinguishes it from the purple-crowned lorikeet.
Breeding is in July to January, and it nests in a hollow in a living eucalypt. There are 4 to 5 eggs laid in a layer of wood dust in the bottom of a hollow. (Contributed by Jo G.)
01/01/2000
