Trichoglossus

The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek terms tricho- "hair", and glõssa "tongue".[2] There are uncertainties in the classification. The main uncertainty is the delineation of the species Trichoglossus haematodus, which has until now been broadly defined with many subspecies. However several are found in remote areas and have been little studied, with some arguing for their classification as separate species. Furthermore, the three species of the related genus Psitteuteles have been sometimes classified as members of Trichoglossus.

The genus contains several species and subspecies:[3][4]

Trichoglossus Stephens 1826

• Trichoglossus ornatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (ornate lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus forsteni (Bonaparte, 1850) (sunset lorikeet)
  • T. f. djampeanus (Hartert, 1897) (Djampea lorikeet)
  • T. f. stresemanni (Meise, 1929) (Stresemann's lorikeet)
  • T. f. mitchellii (Gray, GR, 1859) (Mitchell's lorikeet)
  • T. f. forsteni (Bonaparte, 1850) (scarlet-breasted lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus weberi (Büttikofer, 1894) (leaf lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus capistratus (Bechstein, 1811) (marigold lorikeet)
  • T. c. fortis (Hartert, 1898) (Edward's lorikeet)
  • T. c. capistratus (Bechstein, 1811) (marigold lorikeet)
  • T. c. flavotectus (Hellmayr, 1914) (Wetar lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) (coconut lorikeet)
  • T. h. haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) (green-naped lorikeet)
  • T. h. intermedius (Rothschild & Hartert, 1901) (blue-faced lorikeet)
  • T. h. nigrogularis (Gray, GR, 1858) (dark-throated lorikeet)
  • T. h. caeruleiceps (Albertis & Salvadori, 1879) (pale-headed lorikeet)
  • T. h. nesophilus (Neumann, 1929) (Ninigo Lorikeet)
  • T. h. flavicans (Cabanis & Reichenow, 1876) (olive-green lorikeet)
  • T. h. massena (Bonaparte, 1854) (Massena's lorikeet)
  • T. h. micropteryx (Stresemann, 1922) (southern green-naped lorikeet)
  • T. h. deplanchii (Verreaux, J & Des Murs, 1860) (Deplanche's lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus rosenbergii (Schlegel, 1871) (Biak lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus moluccanus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) (rainbow lorikeet)
  • T. m. septentrionalis (Robinson, 1900) (Northern Moluccan lorikeet)
  • T. m. moluccanus (Gmelin, JF, 1788) (Swainson's lorikeet)
  • T. m. eyrei (Mathews, 1912) (Lake Eyre lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus rubritorquis (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) (red-collared lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus euteles (Temminck, 1835) (olive-headed lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus flavoviridis (Wallace, 1863) (citrine lorikeet)
  • T. f. meyeri (Walden, 1871) (Meyer's lorikeet)
  • T. f. flavoviridis (Wallace, 1863) (citrine lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus johnstoniae (Hartert, 1903) (Mindanao lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus rubiginosus (Bonaparte, 1850) (Pohnpei lorikeet)
• Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus (Kuhl, 1820) (scaly-breasted lorikeet)

Species details

Species of Trichoglossus in taxonomic sequence
Common and binomial names[3]	Image	Description	Range
Ornate lorikeet Trichoglossus ornatus		25 cm (10.0 in) long. The head is dark blue on top and face below eyes and chin is red. Red at back of the head and yellow on sides of neck. Front of neck to chest has transverse bars of red and blue. Green abdomen with sparse variable yellow scalloping. Beak is orange-red, irises are dark orange, eye-ring is dark grey, and legs are grey.[5]	Sulawesi and surrounding islands[6]
Rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus moluccanus		Some classifications list about 20 subspecies; although, several are sometimes listed as separate species (see below). The photograph (left) is T. h. haematodus.	Australia, (Introduced to Hong Kong.)[7]
Olive-headed lorikeet Trichoglossus euteles		24 cm (9.5 in) long. Mainly green with an olive coloured head which is demarcated by a green collar. Its beak is orange-red, its irises are red, and its legs are grey.[5]	Lesser Sundas: Indonesia and Timor-Leste[8]
Citrine lorikeet Trichoglossus flavoviridis		20 cm (8.0 in) long. Mainly green with green and yellow scalloping on its front. Its head is yellow and brown.[5]	Sulawesi, Sulu Islands[9]
Mindanao lorikeet Trichoglossus johnstoniae		20 cm (8 in) long. Mainly green with yellow transverse striations on its front. Its face is red and there is a dark purple band around its head. There is extensive yellow areas on the lower surface of its wings. Its legs are greenish-grey. The beak is orange, the eye-ring is dark grey, the irises are red.[5]	Mindanao (Philippines)[10]
Pohnpei lorikeet Trichoglossus rubiginosus		24 cm long. It is mainly reddish-maroon with vague approximately transverse striations of darker maroon. The head a slightly darker maroon. The flight feathers and tail are olive-yellow. Its legs are grey. The male has an orange beak and yellow-orange irises, while the female has a yellow beak and light grey irises.[5]	Pohnpei (Micronesia)[11]
Scaly-breasted lorikeet Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus		23 cm (9.0 in) long. Mainly green with an all green head. Lowerparts are barred with short transverse yellow and green striations. Orange on lower surface of wings.[5]	Eastern Australia[12]

Rainbow lorikeet species complex

The rainbow lorikeet has about 20 subspecies in some classifications; although, several of these are sometimes split off to form up to four additional species: The parentheses in the scientific names of the birds in the table are used to indicate that a taxon is sometimes considered to be a full species and sometimes listed as a subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet.

Subspecies of rainbow lorikeet that are sometime classified as separate species
Common and binomial names[3]	Image	Description	Range
Sunset lorikeet Trichoglossus (haematodus) forsteni		Sometimes classified as a subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet	The Indonesian island of Sumbawa, Tanahjampea and Kalaotoa
Leaf lorikeet Trichoglossus (haematodus) weberi		Mostly green. Sometimes classified as a subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet	Flores, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia[13]
Marigold lorikeet Trichoglossus (haematodus) capistratus		Sometimes classified as a subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet	Islands of Sumba, Wetar and Timor in south-east Asia
Red-collared lorikeet Trichoglossus (haematodus) rubritorquis		Sometimes classified as a subspecies of the rainbow lorikeet	Northern Australia, including north Kimberley and North West Queensland, but excluding Far North Queensland.[14]