Have you ever come across a musk lorikeet with a yellow crown? Is this likely to be a juvenile variation or something else? I happened upon one in a huge flock in a flowering eucalypt in central Ballarat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
L.H., Mt Helen.
I think your lorikeet has its crown dusted with yellow pollen from the eucalypt flowers. This is a feature of several nectar-feeding birds, and is most often noticed with red wattlebirds and New Holland honeyeaters.
Many flowers produce copious amounts of pollen, mostly yellow or orange, and, being sticky, much of it becomes attached to the birds’ foreheads as they go from flower to flower seeking nectar. The flowers become pollinated this way. So it is not unusual to see honeyeaters with the foreheads dusted with yellow or orange.
- Questions and photos are welcome. Send to Roger Thomas at The Courier, PO Box 21, Ballarat, 3353, or email to rthomas@vic.australis.com.au
