Charmosyna papou
These birds live in the mountains of central New Guinea. In the wild their diet consists of pollen, nectar, blossoms, fruits, berries, and possibly insects and their larvae. Papuan Lorikeets have both a red and melanistic color phase. In the melanistic phase the red feathers are replaced by black ones.
The top picture, taken in the San Diego Zoo, in March 2004, shows a Papuan Lorikeet in the melanistic variety on the left, and a regularly colored one on the right.
The following picture, also taken in the San Diego Zoo in March 2004, shows the colors on the back of a regularly colored Papuan Lorikeet.
Genus Charmosyna
Subfamily Loriinae
Family Psittacidae
Order Psittaciformes
Class Aves
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
Index