Lori hangs up his tail feathers
Hard-working Cleland Wildlife Park team member Lori the lorikeet is hanging up his tail feathers, so to speak.
After 16 years of helping the Cleland education team, Lori is retiring to enjoy his twilight years as a special ‘behind the scenes’ bird consultant at Cleland.
Lori, a rainbow lorikeet, has been a popular and colourful character amongst students of all ages over the years and has been a familiar and regular contributor to the park’s daily education sessions.
He’s also a very cheeky character, and has enjoyed making many friends over the years. In particular, he shares a very special bond with Cleland Wildlife Park’s education officer Andrea after working with her for the past 16 years.
Lori is looking forward to living out his senior years behind the scenes at Cleland, relaxing and extracting nectar from blossoms.
The end of Lori’s tongue is especially equipped with a papillate appendage, which means he has many little hairs on the end of his tongue that help him gather pollen and nectar from flowers.
Rainbow lorikeets are a species of parrot common along Australia’s eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Their habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. The rainbow lorikeet is a medium-sized parrot, ranging in length from 25 to 30 cm, including the tail. Their weight varies from 75 to 157 g.
