Chattering Lory Lorius garrulus Scientific name definitions

30 cm. Mainly red , mantle sometimes with traces of yellow spotting; bill orange, basally dark; thighs and wings dull green; bend of wing and underwing-coverts yellow; broad red band across underside of primaries; tail distally dark green. Immature has brownish bill. Race <em>flavopalliatus</em> has bold yellow patch on mantle and slightly brighter green wings; morotaianus has slight yellow mantle patch.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Repertoire quite extensive. Several very nasal calls such as “nyeeeh” or a triple-noted “nyeh…ne-nyeh”, quite melodious piercing whistles such as “whee!” or “we-whee-whee!”, and also more dissonant shrill notes when perched.

VULNERABLE. CITES II. A BirdLife “restricted-range” species. Population estimates for 1991 were: nominate garrulus 31,220–220,009; flavopalliatus 11,292–48,411 birds, with 4546–32,267 in Bacan group and 6746–16,144 in Obi group; morotaianus 3848–27,120. However, survey work in 1990s gave figures of 56,600–105,900 birds (nominate) for proposed Lalobata reserve alone, indicating that species might be more secure than was feared. Nevertheless, this species, reputedly a good talker, is one of the most important in domestic trade in Indonesia, and trapping pressure is very high: a minimum 9600 birds were estimated caught in 1991, a total which needs to be reduced by a factor of 10 to ensure sustainability. An annual harvest of c. 6,000 birds was estimated in 2012 for Obi I (1 Cottee-Jones, H.E.W., Mittermeier, J.C., Purba, E.C., Ashuri, N.M. and Hesdianti, E. (2014). An assessment of the parrot trade on Obi Island (North Moluccas) reveals heavy exploitation of the Vulnerable Chattering Lory Lorius garrulus. Kukila. 18(1): 1–9. Close ). Habitat destruction in the Moluccas is still not a major concern, but logging will duly occur throughout the islands.