Loriini Explained

Loriini is a tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries.^[1] The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittaculidae. The group consists of the lories and lorikeets. Traditionally, they were considered a separate subfamily (Loriinae) from the other subfamily (Psittacinae) based on the specialized characteristics, but recent molecular and morphological studies show that the group is positioned in the middle of various other groups. They are widely distributed throughout the Australasian region, including south-eastern Asia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Australia, and the majority have very brightly coloured plumage.

Etymology

The word "lory" comes from the Malay lūri, a name used for a number of species of colourful parrots.^[2] The name was used by the Dutch writer Johan Nieuhof in 1682 in a book describing his travels in the East Indies.^[3] The spelling "laurey" was used by English naturalist Eleazar Albin in 1731 for a species of parrot from Brazil,^[4] and then in 1751 the English naturalist George Edwards used the spelling "lory" when introducing names for five species of parrot from the East Indies in the fourth volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Edwards credited Nieuhof for the name.^[5]

The choice of the terms "lory" and "lorikeet" is subjective, like the use of "parrot" and "parakeet". Species with longer tapering tails are generally referred to as "lorikeets", while species with short blunt tails are generally referred to as "lories".^[6]

Taxonomy

Traditionally, lories and lorikeets have either been classified as the subfamily, Loriinae, or as a family on their own, Loriidae,^[7] but they are currently classified as a tribe. Neither traditional view is confirmed by molecular studies. Those studies show that the lories and lorikeets form a single group, closely related to the budgerigar and the fig parrots (Cyclopsitta and Psittaculirostris).^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]}

A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the Loriini published in 2020 led to major changes in the generic boundaries. The reorganisation involved the resurrection of four genera: Charminetta, Hypocharmosyna, Charmosynopsis and Glossoptilus, as well as the erection of three entirely new genera: Synorhacma, Charmosynoides and Saudareos. One genus disappeared, as the collared lory, which had previously been placed in the monotypic genus Phigys, was found to be embedded in the genus Vini. The extinct New Caledonian lorikeet, although not sampled, was assumed to be a member of the genus Vini on plumage and biogeographic grounds. The tribe Loriini now contains 61 species divided into 19 genera.^{[13] [14] [15]}

Genera

Image	Genus	Living Species
	Oreopsittacus	Plum-faced lorikeet, Oreopsittacus arfaki
	Charminetta	Pygmy lorikeet, Charminetta wilhelminae
	Hypocharmosyna	Red-fronted lorikeet, Hypocharmosyna rubronotata Red-flanked lorikeet, Hypocharmosyna placentis
	Charmosynopsis	Blue-fronted lorikeet, Charmosynopsis toxopei Fairy lorikeet, Charmosynopsis pulchella
	Synorhacma	Striated lorikeet, Synorhacma multistriata
	Charmosyna	Josephine's lorikeet, Charmosyna josefinae Papuan lorikeet, Charmosyna papou Stella's lorikeet, Charmosyna stellae
	Charmosynoides	Duchess lorikeet, Charmosynoides margarethae
	Vini	Meek's lorikeet, Vini meeki Red-chinned lorikeet, Vini rubrigularis Palm lorikeet, Vini palmarum Red-throated lorikeet, Vini amabilis † New Caledonian lorikeet, Vini diadema (extinct) Collared lory, Vini solitaria Blue-crowned lorikeet, Vini australis Ultramarine lorikeet, Vini ultramarina Stephen's lorikeet, Vini stepheni Kuhl's lorikeet, Vini kuhlii Blue lorikeet, Vini peruviana
	Neopsittacus	Yellow-billed lorikeet, Neopsittacus musschenbroekii Orange-billed lorikeet, Neopsittacus pullicauda
	Lorius	White-naped lory, Lorius albidinuchus Yellow-bibbed lory, Lorius chlorocercus Purple-naped lory, Lorius domicella Chattering lory, Lorius garrulus Purple-bellied lory, Lorius hypoinochrous Black-capped lory, Lorius lory
	Psitteuteles	Varied lorikeet, Psitteuteles versicolor
	Parvipsitta	Purple-crowned lorikeet, Parvipsitta porphyrocephala Little lorikeet, Parvipsitta pusilla
	Pseudeos	Dusky lory, Pseudeos fuscata Cardinal lory, Pseudeos cardinalis
	Chalcopsitta	Brown lory, Chalcopsitta duivenbodei Black lory, Chalcopsitta atra Yellow-streaked lory, Chalcopsitta sintillata
	Glossoptilus	Goldie's lorikeet, Glossoptilus goldiei
	Glossopsitta	Musk lorikeet, Glossopsitta concinna
	Saudareos	Mindanao lorikeet, Saudareos johnstoniae Iris lorikeet, Saudareos iris Sula lorikeet, Saudareos flavoviridis Yellow-cheeked lorikeet, Saudareos meyeri Ornate lorikeet, Saudareos ornatus
	Eos	Blue-streaked lory, Eos reticulata Blue-eared lory, Eos semilarvata Red lory, Eos bornea Black-winged lory, Eos cyanogenia Red-and-blue lory, Eos histrio Violet-necked lory, Eos squamata
	Trichoglossus	Pohnpei lorikeet, Trichoglossus rubiginosus Scaly-breasted lorikeet, Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus Coconut lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus Biak lorikeet, Trichoglossus rosenbergi Rainbow lorikeet, Trichoglossus moluccanus Red-collared lorikeet, Trichoglossus rubritorquis Olive-headed lorikeet, Trichoglossus euteles Marigold lorikeet, Trichoglossus capestratus Leaf lorikeet, Trichoglossus weberi Sunset lorikeet, Trichoglossus forsteni

Morphology

Lories and lorikeets have specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar and soft fruits. They can feed from the flowers of about 5,000 species of plants and use their specialized tongues to take the nectar. The tip of their tongues have tufts of papillae (extremely fine hairs), which collect nectar and pollen.

The multi-coloured rainbow lorikeet was one of the species of parrots appearing in the first edition of The Parrots of the World and also in John Gould's lithographs of the Birds of Australia.

Diet

In the wild, rainbow lorikeets feed mainly on pollen and nectar, and possess a tongue adapted especially for their particular diet. Many fruit orchard owners consider them a pest, as they often fly in groups and strip trees containing fresh fruit. They are also frequent visitors at bird feeders that supply lorikeet-friendly treats, such as store-bought nectar, sunflower seeds, and fruits such as apples, grapes and pears.^[16] Occasionally they have been observed feeding on meat.^[17]

Conservation

The ultramarine lorikeet is endangered. It is now one of the 50 rarest birds in the world. The blue lorikeet is classified as vulnerable. The introduction of European rats to the small island habitats of these birds is a major cause of their endangerment.^[18] Various conservation efforts have been made to relocate some of these birds to locations free of predation and habitat destruction.

In literature

A "Lory" famously appears in Chapter III of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alice argues with the Lory about its age.

External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the blue lorikeet/tahitian lory (Vini peruviana)

Notes and References

1. Web site: lorikeet bird Britannica . 2022-07-07 . www.britannica.com . en.
2. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010 . The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London, UK . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 231 . Internet Archive (archive.org).
3. Book: Nieuhof, Johan . Johan Nieuhof . 1662 . Zee en lant-reize, door verscheide gewesten van Oostindien . Dutch . A Journey by Sea and Land through Various Regions of the East Indies . Amsterdam, NL . Jacob van Meurs . 287 . Behelzende veele zeltzaame en wonderlijke voorvallen en geschiedenissen. Beneffens een beschrijving van lantschappen, steden, dieren, gewassen, draghten, zeden en godsdienst der inwoonders en inzonderheit een wijtloopig verhael der stad Batavia. Containing many rare and wonderful incidents and histories. Besides a description of the landscapes, cities, animals, crops, customs, manners, and religion of the inhabitants, and in particular a partial story of the city of Batavia. .
4. Book: Albin . Eleazar . Eleazar Albin . Derham . William . William Derham . 1731 . A Natural History of Birds: Illustrated with a hundred and one copper plates, curiously engraven from the life . 1 . 13, Plate 13 . London, UK . Printed for the author and sold by William Innys .
5. Book: Edwards, George . George Edwards (naturalist) . 1751 . A Natural History of Uncommon Birds . Part 4 . 170–174 . London, UK . Printed for the author at the College of Physicians .
6. Book: Low, Rosemary . 1998 . Hancock House Encyclopedia of the Lories . Hancock House . 85–87 . 0-88839-413-6.
7. Book: Forshaw, Joseph M.. Cooper, William T. . 1981. 1973, 1978. corrected second. Parrots of the World. David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London. 0-7153-7698-5.
8. Wright . T.F. . Schirtzinger . E.E. . Matsumoto . T. . Eberhard . J.R. . Graves . G.R. . Sanchez . J.J. . Capelli . S. . Müller . H. . Scharpegge . J. . Chambers . G.K. . Fleischer . R.C. . 2008 . A multilocus molecular phylogeny of the parrots (Psittaciformes): Support for a Gondwanan origin during the Cretaceous . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 25 . 10 . 2141–2156 . 2727385. 10.1093/molbev/msn160 . free .
9. Astuti. Dwi. Azuma, Noriko . Suzuki, Hitoshi . Higashi, Seigo . 2006. Phylogenetic relationships within parrots (Psittacidae) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene sequences.. Zoological Science. 23. 191–98. 10.2108/zsj.23.191. 16603811. 2. 2115/54809. 35879495. free.
10. de Kloet. RS. de Kloet SR . 2005. The evolution of the spindlin gene in birds: Sequence analysis of an intron of the spindlin W and Z gene reveals four major divisions of the Psittaciformes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 36. 706–721. 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.03.013. 16099384. 3.
11. 10.1111/j.1525-142X.2007.00199.x. Tokita . M . Kiyoshi T . Armstrong KN . 2007. Evolution of craniofacial novelty in parrots through developmental modularity and heterochrony. Evolution & Development. 9. 6. 590–601. https://archive.today/20121005175548/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118546207/abstract. dead. 2012-10-05. 17976055. 46659963 .
12. Christidis, L.. L. . R. . Schodde . Richard Schodde . D. D. . Shaw . S. F. . Maynes . 1991. Relationships among the Australo-Papuan parrots, lorikeets, and cockatoos (Aves, Psittaciformes) - protein evidence. Condor . 93 . 2 . 302–17 . 10.2307/1368946. 1368946 .
13. Smith . B.T. . Mauck . W.M.I. . Benz . B.W. . Andersen . M.J. . 2020 . Uneven missing data skew phylogenomic relationships within the lories and lorikeets . Genome Biology and Evolution . 12 . 7 . 1131–1147 . 10.1093/gbe/evaa113. 7486955 . free .
14. Joseph . L. . Merwin . J. . Smith . B.T. . 2020 . Improved systematics of lorikeets reflects their evolutionary history and frames conservation priorities . Emu - Austral Ornithology . 120 . 3 . 201–215 . 10.1080/01584197.2020.1779596.
15. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2021 . Parrots, cockatoos . IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 24 July 2021 .
16. Web site: Rainbow Lorikeet / Rainbow Lory aka Green Naped Lory / Lorikeet. www.beautyofbirds.com. en. 2017-10-17.
17. News: Meat-eating rainbow lorikeets puzzle bird experts. 2015-03-23. ABC News. 2017-10-17. en-AU.
18. Steadman D, (2006). Extinction and Biogeography in Tropical Pacific Birds, University of Chicago Press.