The rainbow lorikeet is a good looking bird, but its numbers are exploding in Tasmania and there's concerns for the fruit industry and local species.
Rainbow lorikeets are a pretty sight but could create massive problems for Tasmania's fruit industry and critically endangered parrots.Over the last two decades large flocks of rainbow lorikeets have been spotting in Tasmania, which previously was only home to one lorikeet species
The pest species is breeding with the native musk lorikeet and poses a concern for stone fruit producers and the endangered swift parrotThe species is not native to Tasmania, but flocks of up to 100 are being spotted around the state, prompting authorities to trial a trapping program.creating a hybrid species.
"In the last 20 years we've seen literally an explosion of rainbow lorikeets in Tasmania," said ornithologist Eric Woehler. "Most of the population of rainbow lorikeets that we're aware of are on the north-west coast, [in] Launceston and the Tamar Valley, and down here in the south-east.""There are absolutely no estimates that I'm aware of either from the government departments or our own efforts," he said.
Dr Woehler said the lorikeets' distribution was being mapped based on reported sightings, and the size of flocks were being noted.
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