Yellow-bibbed Lory

1 Yellow-bibbed Lory Breed Overview

In many places few people keep the Yellow-bibbed Lory, but in the Solomon Islands it is a different story: this is the wild habitat of the Yellow-bibbed Lory, and many locals keep them as pets. Visually the Yellow-bibbed Lory is striking, showing red, yellow, green, and other colors, so many are attracted at first sight. Moreover, the Yellow-bibbed Lory is a strong mimic, whistling is easy for it, yet although it whistles often it never seems noisy.

Many birds are fearful or shy, but the Yellow-bibbed Lory is not among them; it is a lively bird. If you want to keep such a parrot, you need not worry about it being difficult; in fact, it is not hard to care for.

The Yellow-bibbed Lory also has aliases; some call it the Yellow-collared Lory, others the Yellow-bibbed Lory, and its English name is Yellow-bibbed Lory.

Chinese Name: Yellow-bibbed Lory

Binomial: Lorius chlorocercus

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Aves

Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

Subfamily: Loriinae

Genus: Lorius

Species: Yellow-bibbed Lory (Lorius chlorocercus)

2 Physical Characteristics of the Yellow-bibbed Lory

There are many reasons people love the Yellow-bibbed Lory, and its beautiful appearance is one. Its body is mainly red, so bright that it easily draws attention. Besides red, you can find many other colors on it: the yellow above the chest, the green on the wings, the deep blue on the thighs, and so on.

On closer inspection, you will find the Yellow-bibbed Lory’s beak is longer than that of most parrots, and it has a brush-tipped tongue (the slender tongue with brush-like hairs is called a brush tongue). These structures, different from some other parrots, let it better obtain its favorite foods, pollen and nectar.

For the Yellow-bibbed Lory, males and females do not differ greatly in appearance, but juveniles do differ from adults. Usually the juvenile’s yellow chest feathers are less dense than the adult’s, and its belly feathers may show other colors.

Yellow-bibbed Lory physical description:

Body length: 28 cm.

Weight: 53-225 g.

Crown: black.

Forehead: black.

Beak: orange-red.

Iris: orange-red.

Nape: black.

Throat: dark blue on both sides.

Chest: a semicircular band of yellow feathers above.

Wings: green, inner coverts blue, bend of wing pale blue, inner flight feathers with a broad pink stripe.

Tail: inner deep olive-yellow, upper red, tip green.

Thighs: deep blue.

Juvenile: no black feathers on sides of throat; compared with adults, its yellow chest feathers are less dense and conspicuous; also the juvenile’s iris is dark, not orange-red like the adult.

3 Yellow-bibbed Lory Habitat

To keep a Yellow-bibbed Lory well, providing suitable living conditions is essential. Usually owners first think about the cage; the Yellow-bibbed Lory is 28 cm long, so a properly sized cage is especially important. Also, for this chewing-loving bird, owners should pay attention to cage material, with a metal cage the best choice. To keep the environment clean and hygienic, clean the cage regularly and wash food and water containers daily.

The Yellow-bibbed Lory can live up to 30 years. If you want to keep this parrot, you may be taking care of it for 30 years, so unless you are sure you can shoulder this responsibility, do not adopt one lightly.

Wild habitat of the Yellow-bibbed Lory:

The wild Yellow-bibbed Lory inhabits the Solomon Islands, but is not seen everywhere; forests, coconut plantations, and some vegetated areas are where they are more easily seen. When looking for them, look upward, as they prefer to move among taller fruit trees and flowering branches. During breeding they usually do not move alone, making them easier to spot. Their distribution also varies by region; populations at higher latitudes are larger than at lower latitudes. Altitude also affects distribution; in some areas they inhabit higher elevations more.

4 Yellow-bibbed Lory Care

Low difficulty is one reason many people like the Yellow-bibbed Lory, so owners need not worry too much about failing. But easy does not mean ‘leave them alone’. Only scientific care keeps them healthy.

I. Food: Wild Yellow-bibbed Lories mainly eat nectar, pollen, and fruit, and also seeds and even caterpillars. In captivity how should owners feed them? You can buy specialized commercial feed, and some owners make their own food, but must consider whether the food is safe for the bird.

II. Environment: To keep the bird healthy, provide a good living environment, such as washing food and water containers daily, cleaning the cage regularly, and controlling temperature. These tasks may seem trivial, but never skip them, as neglecting them affects the bird’s health. (See also: Yellow-bibbed Lory habitat.)

III. Breeding: First, prepare a properly sized nest box. Second, like some parrots, the male is aggressive during breeding, so be careful. Third, theoretically they can breed year-round, but in practice summer is not a good season; breed in other seasons. Fourth, if you want two or more clutches a year, care for them scientifically.