Walking the backstreets of Pearl Beach, Central Coast NSW, we happened to spot a yellow flash land in a yellow banksia. We thought that maybe the sun had just caught a Rainbow Lorikeet at a strange angle, but as we came nearer, we were amazed to see it was a rare “Lutino” Rainbow Lorikeet!
Being unprepared, and with the sun at a bad angle, the photos are not among our best, but sightings of these birds in the wild are rare enough to warrant us posting them.
Unlike the Yellow Morph King Parrot (refer Hello Yellow Jan 2, 2022), the Lutino mutation in Rainbow Lorikeets is not a naturally occurring one. It originated about 20 years ago when breeders crossed an extremely rare naturally-mutated Lutino Scaly-breasted Lorikeet with a Rainbow Lorikeet. Since then breeders have been refining the mutation in Rainbows.
So we can only assume this guy is an escaped pet. Given that there is a breeding aviary that specializes in colour-mutated Lorikeets on the Central Coast of NSW, our mate here may well have staged a break-out from there! He was in the company of a handful of other Rainbow Lorikeets, and seems happy enough feeding himself in the wild, so we don’t think there is any cause for concern.
Bramandagram 