''Vini'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of birds in the family

Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family containing Old World parrots. It consists of five subfamilies: Agapornithinae, Loriinae, Platycercinae Platycercinae is a subfamily of birds belonging to the family Psittaculidae that inhabit Oceania. It consists of ...

that are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the islands of the tropical

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. There are eleven extant species of these small

lorikeet 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. The species form a monophyletic group within the ...

s ranging from eastern Fiji through

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of French ...

, and as far east as Henderson Island. All members of the genus have exceptional bright

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

, particularly the unusual all over blues of the

blue lorikeet The blue lorikeet (''Vini peruviana'') is a small lorikeet from French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. It is also known as the Tahiti lorikeet, violet lorikeet, Tahitian lory, blue lory, nunbird, and the indigo lory. It was formerly found on 23 ...

and the

ultramarine lorikeet The ultramarine lorikeet (''Vini ultramarina'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae, endemic to the Marquesas Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane fo ...

. The ''Vini'' lorikeets are highly threatened by human changes to their islands. Most species have been lost from a number of islands and two species became extinct before the arrival of European explorers in the Pacific. , two species are listed as endangered species by the IUCN and two are considered

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

. They are primarily threatened by

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived the ...

, such as

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' ( pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandico ...

s, and habitat loss.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Vini'' was introduced in 1833 by the French naturalist René Lesson for

Kuhl's lorikeet Kuhl's lorikeet (''Vini kuhlii''), also called the Rimitara lorikeet, Kuhl's lory, Manu 'Ura (local appellation) or Kura (Cook Islands), is a species of lorikeet in the family Psittaculidae. It is one of several species of '' Vini'' lorikeets f ...

. For the publication date see: The genus name is the Tahitian word for a local bird. This genus formerly included only the blue-crowned,

ultramarine Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afgh ...

, Stephen's, Kuhl's, and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

lorikeets (as well as the extinct Sinoto's and

conquered Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

lorikeets); the

collared lory The collared lory (''Vini solitaria'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is endemic to the islands of Fiji. It is the only Fijian rainforest bird to adapt to urban landscapes and can be found in urban Suva. Measuring , it h ...

was formerly placed in the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

''Phigys'', and the remaining five species were placed in ''

Charmosyna ''Charmosyna'' is a genus of parrots in the family Psittaculidae. Taxonomy ''Charmosyna'' contains the following three species: * Josephine's lorikeet (''Charmosyna josefinae'') * Papuan lorikeet (''Charmosyna papou'') * Stella's lorikeet ( ...

''. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the lorikeets published in 2020 led to a revision of the generic boundaries.

Species

The genus contains 11 species:

Fossils

* †

Sinoto's lorikeet Sinoto's lorikeet (''Vini sinotoi'') is a species of parrot that became extinct 700–1,300 years ago. It was identified from fossils on the Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North ...

, ''Vini sinotoi'' (extinct) * †

Conquered lorikeet The conquered lorikeet (''Vini vidivici'') is a species of parrot that became extinct 700–1300 years ago. It lived in islands of Polynesia. David Steadman and Marie Zarriello wrote its species description in 1987. It was discovered in the olde ...

, ''Vini vidivici'' (extinct)

References

Bird genera Parrots of Oceania Taxa named by René Lesson {{parrot-stub