| Most parrots nest in cavities in trees--yet a surprising number of lory species use alternate sites. Very little data is available on the nest sites used by lories; nests of a number of species are either unknown or have never been described. Even in Australia few studies of lorikeets' nests have been made. However, nests of Trichoglossus haematodus fortis on Sumba have been described in some detail (see page 251). Most were in tree cavities, but three were in the rooty undersides of large aboreal epiphytes. Thane K. Pratt (coauthor of The Birds of New Guinea) of the Dept. of Biolological Sciences of Rutgers University, U.S.A., was perhaps the first to point out that several species of small lorikeets do not always nest in tree cavities. He suggested that most Charmosyna species, also Goldie's and whiskered lorikeets, use the thick moss cushions draped over tree limbs in the forest canopy (see Whiskered Lorikeet, under Nesting). These cushions, which can be several feet thick, hang down over the sides of branches and support small gardens of orchids and ferns. When observed from below, they appear to be dry on the underside. Thane Pratt observed striated, Wilhelmina's, fairy, Josephine's and Papuan lorikeets exploring them. On several occasions he saw fairy lorikeets climbing into one such clump, and he believed them to be nesting there. In New Guinea, on Mount Bosavi, Josephine's were frequently seen leaving an epiphytic clump from which chicks could be heard calling. According to the people of the Huon Peninsula, Papuan lorikeets chose another type of nest site--the massive accumulation of dead leaves in the crowns of palmlike pandanus trees (Pratt 1982). . . |
