Goldie's Lorikeets

• Lories as Pets or Aviary Birds
• Lory Photo Gallery
• Listing of Species
• Distribution Maps of Lories & Lorikeets
• Lories & Lorikeets in Aviculture
• Feeding & Housing Your Lories & Lorikeets ... Lory Food
• Diseases of Lories / Lorikeets & Health Care Program
• Lory / Lorikeet Books

The Goldie's Lorikeets (Psitteuteles goldiei) are endemic to New Guinea / Western New Guinea, South-eastern Papua.

Description:

The forehead and crown are scarlet, while the cheeks are purple with dark blue streaks. The upper parts dark green. The under parts are yellowish-green with dark green longitudinal streaks (like a water melon).

Lories as Pets:

Goldie's Lorikeets seldom make a sound and make wonderful pets, staying tame forever. I don't think you could make one bite you! They are also fairly prolific breeders and are pretty well established in captivity. The perfect 1st lory. (Description by Dick Schroeder - Owner of Cuttlebone Plus & Expert Breeder / Keeper of Lories).

• Average Price $175 - $250

Lories are popular companion birds due to their intelligence, entertaining personality and stunning beauty. They are also quite easily bred, so there are readily available. Their expected lifespan is 28+ years. They reach maturity at 8 months or later. Males and females look alike and breeders depend on DNA or endoscopic sexing to determine sex. Most stay tame, even in maturity.

They are affectionate, curious, extroverted and clowny and exhibit some unique behaviors. Some like to wrap themselves up in a blanket for sleeping. At times, they can even be seen sleeping on their backs. They are capable of aggressive behavior if their territory and possessions are not respected. They are demanding in care requirements (especially diet preparations) and require a lot of attention. Daily baths or showers should be part of their grooming regimen.

Due to their diet which consists for the most part of fruits and nectar, their droppings are very runny and messy. Special adaptations around the cage are recommended. Carpet underneath a cage will be the poorest choice of all. Everything in the vicinity of the cage should be easy to clean. This being said, lories are very trainable and, with a little patience and know-how, can be taught to eliminate in a certain area on cue. This webpage will provide you with instructions.

Their voice ranges from loud, piercing whistles and metallic "pings" to soft, high-pitched warbles and chattering, although this is said to be one of the quieter species..

Caring for your Lory:

Diet:

The bulk of their natural diet consist of nectar, flowers, fruits, pollen and seeds.

Part of their captive diet should be a good-quality commercial or home-made nectar. Please note that liquid nectar will need to be replaced several times daily - in fact, in warm weather it needs to be changed every 4 hours. The main causes of premature death in lories are infections caused by spoiled nectar and/or a poorly balanced, one-sided diet that doesn't meet the special nutritional requirements needed for good health. Excellent commercial formulas are available on this website.

Lories also love honey, pollen and fruits, such as apples, pomegranates, papaya, grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple, figs, kiwi, as well as greenfood and some vegetables, including corn-on-the-cob. Another healthful addition to their diet are flowers, including pansies, nasturtiums, roses, hibiscus, marigolds, and dandelions. All fruits, veggies and flowers should be pesticide free. Organic is always best. (For non-toxic ways to control pests in the house or garden, please visit this webpage.)

During the breeding season, rusk or biscuit softened in milk are eagerly accepted by the parents for feeding the chicks.

Other food items include brewer's yeast, oat flakes, multi-grain flakes and small quantities of millet spray; oats, canary grass seed; some sunflower (sprouted). If a balanced nutrition can't be met, vitamin and mineral supplements may need to be provided.

Housing:

These lories are medium-noisy parrots whose shrill calls may annoy nearby neighbors.

Aviaries:

Spacious, long flights are preferred, with plenty of natural (non-toxic) vegetation. Breeding pairs need to be kept singly or at least during the breeding season, breeding pairs need to be kept in separate flights. Colony keeping is possible outside the breeding season. They need to be protected from low temperatures and draughts - even after acclimatization. A roosting box should be available at all times (including outside the breeding season).

Cages:

Lories are very active birds and require large cages. The minimum cage size for a single lory should be 36" H x 48" L x 24" W or to accommodate a pair the cage dimensions needs to be, at a minimum, 36" H x 60" L x 36" W. You have to remember that you need room for the many toys that lories so cherish, perches, food / water dishes, maybe a "birdy tent" -- as well as providing sufficient space for them to move around, exercise their wings. etc.

Care should be taken in cage design and placement since the birds have a tendency to squirt their waste matter, which is fairly liquid, behind them with some force. It is not recommended to place the cage behind a delicately decorated wall and on unprotected carpet. Easy-care flooring is recommended, as well as a washable wall. An acrylic panel custom-cut and placed over the wall would be a great way to protect it. The acrylic panel can easily be taken outside and hosed down. There are acrylic cages available, but lories love to climb and scramble about, so a standard, high quality powder coated cage is a better choice - as large as the space you have will allow.

In an outdoor aviary they are the easiest birds to maintain, as all of their waste can simply be hosed away, no seed hulls to sweep up or sticky, green and white droppings running down the side of the cage to scrub off. Lory droppings are mostly clear or beige. A word of caution about placing lories in mixed-species aviaries. Some lories can be very aggressive toward other birds, while others will mingle just fine. The worst is probably the Chattering Lory. They seem to take great pleasure in doing in other birds in their territory.

Training and Behavioral Guidance:

Lories are known for their intelligence, and they are more than happy to entertain you with the tricks that have learned. They are capable of aggressive behavior if their territory and possessions are not respected and nippiness can occur if this behavior is not managed.

Consistent training and behavioral guidance is recommended so that you can enjoy a bird free of destructive and annoying habits.

Training and behavioral guidance will help your pet be the kind of companion you want it to be ...

• AvianWeb Resources: I put together web resources for you to help you understand your pet bird and properly direct him. Please visit this website for valuable tips on parrot behavior and training. If you found a way to resolve a "parrot behavioral issue" please share it with others.


• If you are, as I am, a visual learner and prefer step-by-step instructions to train your pet, I recommend:
  
  • the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
    • Stop Biting
    • Perform Tricks &
    • Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own
  • and/or try the "Teach Your Parrot to Talk" Training Course.

If you are considering one of these magnificent parrots as pets, please visit the following websites for information:

• Procuring your Parrot
  • Bird Breeders
  • Do you breed this species and would like to be listed? Click here to see your options.


• The 3 Key Elements to Keep Your Pet Bird Happy & Healthy



• Housing Your Bird



• Bird Nutrition



• Parrot Products

Feeding & Housing Your Lory

Taxonomy:

Family: Psittacidae ... Sub-Family: Psittacinae

Genus: Scientific: Psitteuteles ... English: Wedge-tailed Lorikeets ... Dutch: Wigstaartlori ... German: Keilschwanzloris ... French: Loriquet cale

Species: Scientific: Psitteuteles goldiei ... English: Goldie's Lorikeet ... Dutch: Viooltjeslori, Goldie's Lori ... German: Veilchenlori ... French: Loriquet de Goldie

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