Lorikeets feeding on Mushrooms?
Hi Everyone,
We hope everyone is safe and enjoying some well deserved sunshine.
We have been notified this week of rainbow lorikeets feeding on mushrooms that have sprouted up after all this wet weather. This is an unusual food source for the lorikeets so we wanted to ask you, our citizen scientists, whether you have seen any lorikeets feeding on mushrooms?
If you do observe this unusual feeding in the coming weeks, be sure to take a photo and add it to our citizen science project.
If you remember seeing this occur in the past, leave us a comment in this post and tell us what you saw.
Keep safe and Happy Rainbow Lorikeet spotting!
Kind regards,
Lauren, David, Maya
Comentarios
Lorikeets have been very busy in the trees here after the rain but up to now I haven't seen any taking an interest in the various types of fungus popping up after all the wet weather.
Sue W Indooroopilly QLD 4068
Thanks for your comment @suwoods Interesting to note about the mushrooms. Do you know what species of tree they have been busy in after the rains?
The red flowering gums have blossomed and the lorikeets seem to be getting nectar there. Unfortunately they are also frequenting what I think are African tulip trees, with bright red flowers (the sulphur crested cockatoos have also been busy in these trees - they tend to break the blossoms off and pull off the petals). What has been interesting is the Flamboyants. There are lots in Indooroopilly and nearby suburbs like Kenmore. These trees are not in flower but the lorikeets are spending hours in them. They seem to be running their beaks down the leaf fronds so I wonder if there is some kind of insect or parasite that they are eating - seems odd as they are not insectivores.
The loris are frequenting other native trees in the area but I can't get close enough to identify them or take clear photos.
Wow @suwoods thankyou for letting us know. Very interesting to hear about the Flamboyants! While they may not be directly feeding from these trees, I think it would be worthwhile adding them to our dataset, so feel free to take photos of the flamboyants and add them to our LPS page if you get the chance! Thank-you for your contributions to the project, and for providing this great insight.
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