OTHER NAMES
none
SIZE
Length about 30 cm, weight about 125 grams
SEXING
Visual sexing is not reliable and surgical or DNA sexing is necessary
NATURAL OCCURENCE
The Red Collar Lorikeet, a very close relative of the Rainbow Lorikeet, is found across the north of Australia from the Kimberleys to Kakadu and the Gulf of Carpentaria. The range of the Red Collar and the Rainbow do not overlap, with a dry, mostly treeless plain some hundreds of kilometres across forming a natural barrier. The prefered habitat is open Eucalypt forests with the flowers of the Eucalypt being a favourite food source. They are nomadic, with movements controlled by the availability of flowering trees and shrubs. It is most often seen in pairs or small flocks. Breeding in the wild is from September or October, through to February or March, corresponding to the wet season and an abundance of food in the area they are found.
AVICULTURE
The Red Collar Lorikeet is kept in reasonable numbers in Australian aviculture, and breeds freely. Housing is best as a single pair to a flight, but they have successfully been bred in a colony situation. Suspended aviaries around 3.5 metres long are the prefered accomodation. A 30 cm by 30 cm by 45 cm high nestbox can be used, and the usual precautions for keeping the Lorikeet nestbox clean are required. Two eggs are laid, and incubation by the hen takes 24 days. The babies fledge at around 56 to 60 days, and the young become independant after a further 14 days. Double or even triple brooding is likely, especially if babies are removed for hand rearing. Sexual maturity is at 18 to 24 months.
MUTATIONS
No mutations have been recorded for the Red Collar Lorikeet.
PET POTENTIAL
The Red Collar is kept in small numbers as a pet bird in Australia, with its characteristics as a pet bird being the same as a Rainbow Lorikeet. The low numbers is a reflection on its availability and price rather than its suitability as a pet.
PRICE
A mature pair in Queensland will sell for around $180AU, with a hand raised bird being about $140AU. I believe they are present in overseas aviculture, but am unaware of their price in the USA or Britain.