Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

[Koukou]

Kia ora Whanau,

Long time no post but tuatahi/first, I hope everyone and their Whanau are safe and well.

Tuarua/second, yesterday afternoon I spotted a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet in Normanton Reserve in Glenfield, Auckland. The calls gave it away but I got a good view of it just before it flew from an Oak tree in the park.
I have seen the odd Rainbow around in the past but how often do these turn up as cage escapes? Unfortunately I couldn't scrutinise it closely enough to spot any giveaways regarding its provenance but it certainly flew strongly.

Kia haumaru, be safe.

[Finn Davey]

Could we throw in the possibility of a Vagrant? Considering the species is found in Eastern Australia, and where they're found in Eastern Australia. If one was to be blown across, the upper north island is the most likely place for it to end up. So the locations line up.

[sav]

Could we throw in the possibility of a Vagrant?

Hey Finn,

The simple answer is NO! This species is a terrible candidate for natural vagrancy. The distribution has a Northerly bias, and critically doesnt include Tasmania or the SE corner of NSW. More than that the longest recorded movement (HANZAB) is less than 250 km.

Could it be an escape? YES!

cheers

[Koukou]

Kia ora ano,

Aroha mai Sav I may have this wrong but I’m worried I might have inadvertently hit a nerve. I admit I was being deliberately suggestive. I’ve been out of this space for a while I’m not sure if it’s the vagrancy issue? Something in my language perhaps?

Not a bad thing to be put in my place now and again but I hope you don't mind me taking time explain myself. I take your point re: mobility but respectfully I suggest those studies (study?) took place in quite different conditions to those being experienced currently on teh east coast? Which goes to something might really be worth a korero? Lorikeets utilise resource at a landscape scale and the recent fires are unprecedented in scale and intensity i.e. they (and honeyeaters) are likely going to be forced to make large regional movements to persist (and all on top of a terrible drought). Will be interesting to consider how this will play out? .

Rgarding range this has largely taken place in the south of their range and opposite (more or less) NZ. I thought Finn’s point was a reasonable one (and remember those scores of birds washed up on the beaches). Otherwise BF Monarch and RC Fruit-Dove have similar biogeographic ranges to Scalys and are at least as uncommon in the south. I understand these are migrant spp. perhaps the most crucial factor with terrestrial vagrants from Oz but as above Scaly’s are nomadic and certainly highly mobile. Red Wattlebirds have turned up here and would be very similar?
And they're in Melbourne albeit as a feral pop. Perhaps garden/street plantings have promoted their establishment there but could it not be considered fair evidence they’re capable of persisting out of range?

So, in the absence of a large storm, would this cause a Lorikeet (and rather than say a waterbird) to end up across the Tasman? I dunno. I actually think it wouldn't substantially change the probability. Was just keen to korero. And I’ve seen plenty enough cage escapes (and more than a couple atNormanton Park). I was actually genuinely interested; how often do people see this sp.?

Given present circumstances i.e. stuck at home and with a little spare time at last I thought it a good opportunity to get engaged with people here and illicit a discussion in the process. It’s been a while since I had time to engage with nga manu at all. Nevertheless I am outside this community and don't want to step on any toes. I had some intense discussions in an older thread so will take this latest as my cue. And apologies for the massive post.

Aroha nui ki a koutou katoa. As per the advice kia haumaru/be safe, and kia atawhai/be kind.

[Paul Scofield]

Seems its not the first time he has got away:

https://lostpetfinders.co.nz/pets/107805

P

[Koukou]

Cool. Nice one e hoa.

Nga mihi

[sav]

Aroha mai Sav I may have this wrong but I’m worried I might have inadvertently hit a nerve. I admit I was being deliberately suggestive. I’ve been out of this space for a while I’m not sure if it’s the vagrancy issue? Something in my language perhaps?

.

Hi Koukou,

I certainly didnt mean to have a go at you, and had no intention of "putting you in your place". The only reason I replied at all was to try to point out the fact that some species are prone to vagrancy, and some are not. There isnt any point trying to prove/disprove the provenance of a bird like this - it COULD be a vagrant, but the odds are stacked against that - and there just isnt any way of knowing for sure.

The nerve that you did hit was the Rarities Assessment Ctte one. We just had a King Parrot submitted for assessment, and my opinion is that was a waste of everyones time. Yes, it was a King Parrot. Was it a wild bird? (Almost) certainly not.

Stay safe,

cheers

[Steve Wood]

I have to totally agree with Sav on this. Personally, It is a bit of a shame that these types of reports which are clearly waifs and farm yard strays,and I would have thought were fairly obvious to most of us, and especially the Rarities Assessment Ctte. would have been filtered out and never reach the UBR report stage.

Yes- record it somewhere (ebird perhaps?)

Yes - it is an unusual bird, but - please don't water down our rare bird sighting with these obvious dodgy sightings!

We have a great list of impressive birds that reach NZ annually, Atlantic Yellow nosed Albert- Pink footed Shearwater - Black faced Cuckoo shrike and now King Parrot is wedged amongst them... just doesn't look right to me, it certainly doesn't pass the smell test - smells dodgy!

There is TWO King Parrot submissions, and as far as I can see, this species isn't even listed as a reportable species? whats that about?????

I also see a report of a Bobwhite Quail has been accepted... but why is it really relevant any more ? May be good a time to remove this species from the list perhaps. What were the origin of this bird ??? .......can ONLY be Dodgy.

I think for me - RARE BIRD REPORT is a far better choice of title and would hopefully eliminate these oddities and record them somewhere else if you must.

All comments welcome, if so, probable a new thread is needed.

Cheers.

Steve

[Finn Davey]

Apparently the King Parrot isn't being considered a vagrant and won't be added to the NZ checklist of birds

[Steve Wood]

All well and good and at this stage there us no reason to add it to check list. My point was that there is nothing on the “accepted” list that differentiates it from all the proper records. It gets the same recognition.