PBS Animal Spotlight: Lorikeets

Lorikeets are often referred to as the “clowns of the Parrot world”, due to their playful nature. You’ll often find them laying flat on their backs with their feet straight in the air or even wrestling with one another!

Lorikeets are a type of Parrot native to Australia and the surrounding islands and there are actually 55 different species of Lorikeet. We have 12 of those different species here at Turtle Bay’s Parrot Playhouse.

Lorikeets have a unique tongue with a bottle brush tip that helps them scrape nectar from flowers and like all Parrots, they have specialized feet called zygodactyl feet. These feet, along with their strong beaks, actually help them be great climbers. Unfortunately, due to many human activities such as the illegal pet trade and habitat loss, most species of Lorikeet are threatened and even endangered.

These colorful little birds love to interact with our guests, so come down and visit them at Turtle Bay Exploration Park’s Parrot Playhouse!

You can help support Turtle Bay’s efforts by sponsoring this or any of our other animal ambassadors through our Adopt-An-Animal program.

As seen on KIXE-TV Channel 9