The varied lorikeet (''Psitteuteles versicolor''), is a species of parrot in the family

Psittacidae The family Psittacidae or holotropical parrots is one of three families of true parrots. It comprises the roughly 10 species of subfamily Psittacinae (the Old World or Afrotropical parrots) and 157 of subfamily Arinae (the New World or Neotropi ...

that is

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 else ...

to the northern coastal regions of Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Psitteuteles''.

Taxonomy

The first depiction of the species was included in a seminal folio by

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised. His principal ...

, the subject of his illustration has since been lost and it became recognised as the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

. The image was published as the thirty sixth

lithographic Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

plate in September 1831, without a location or description, in his work ''

Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots ''Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots'' is an 1832 book containing 42 hand-coloured lithographs by Edward Lear. He produced 175 copies for sale to subscribers as a part-publication, which were later bound as a book. Lear star ...

'' (1830–32) depicting live specimens in English zoological exhibitions and private collections. The name supplied in the caption was ''Trichoglossus versicolor'', with the subheading "Variegated Parrakeet". The source of the specimen, according to

Richard Schodde Richard Schodde, OAM (born 23 September 1936) is an Australian botanist and ornithologist. Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide, where he received a BSc (Hons) in 1960 and a PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the CSI ...

(1997), was incorrectly determined as "Cape York", a location proposed by

Gregory Mathews Gregory Macalister Mathews CBE FRSE FZS FLS (10 September 1876 – 27 March 1949) was an Australian-born amateur ornithologist who spent most of his later life in England. Life He was born in Biamble in New South Wales the son of Robert H. M ...

in 1912 and subsequently repeated. Schodde reports the absence of records at that location, instead drawing attention the surveys of

Admiral King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the Un ...

along the Northwest coastline from

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

King Sound King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about long, and averages about in width. The port town ...

and settlements in 1824,

Fort Dundas Fort Dundas was a short-lived British settlement on Melville Island between 1824 and 1828 in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia. It was the first of four British settlement attempts in northern Australia before Goyder's survey a ...

at Melville Island, and the 1827 Fort Wellington at

Raffles Bay Raffles Bay is a bay on the northern coast of the Cobourg Peninsula of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It was named in 1818 by explorer Phillip Parker King after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. It is ...

, and giving this region as the likely source of the collection. The varied lorikeet is now the only species placed in the

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 nom ...

'' Psitteuteles'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

in 1854. The species is

monotypic 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 ...

: no

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

are recognised.

Description

The varied lorikeet is about long. It is mainly green with short yellow longitudinal streaks. The fine yellow streaking and broad orbital patch are distinctive. The lores, forehead, and crown are red. The beak is red, the bare eye-rings are white, the lores are bare, and the irises are orange-yellow. The upper breast is mauve with longitudinal yellow streaks. The legs are bluish-grey. In the female the red on the head is less extensive, and the breast has duller colours. Juveniles are much duller and are mainly green with an orange forehead, pale-brown irises, and a brown beak that is orange at the base. its flight is swift and direct and contact call is a distinct shrill screech. The call is given constantly in flight and flocks are often heard before they are seen. This is a blossom nomad.

Breeding

The varied lorikeet mates in April–August and will lay 2–4 white eggs in a unlined tree hollow, often horizontal limbs. The lorikeet also uses these horizontal branches to roost.

Range and habitat

The varied lorikeet lives in tropical

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forests, wetland and grassland areas in northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. it Ranges from Broome in WA across into the Gulf (NT), south to Mt Isa and north to the

Jardine River The Jardine River is the largest river of the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. Course The headwaters of the river rise southwest of Helby Hill in the Great Dividing Range and flow in a north westerly direction parallel t ...

in Qld.

Gallery

File:Psitteuteles versicolor by Edward Lear.jpg,

Holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

by Edward Lear File:Varied Lorikeet Cloncurry Qld.jpg, left, Varied lorikeet at

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known a ...

, Queensland

References

{{Authority control

varied lorikeet The varied lorikeet (''Psitteuteles versicolor''), is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that is endemic to the northern coastal regions of Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Psitteuteles''. Taxonomy The first depictio ...

Birds of Australia

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot