LORIINI
LORIINI
Loriini is a tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittacidae. The group consist of the Lories and Lorikeets. Traditionally, they were considered a separate subfamily Loriinae from the other subfamily Psittacinae based on the specialized characteristics but recent molecular and morphological studies show that the group is positioned in the middle of various other groups. They are widely distributed throughout the Australasian region, including south-eastern Asia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Australia and the majority have very brightly coloured plumage. The usage of the terms "lory" and "lorikeet" is subjective, like the usage of "Parrot" and "Parakeet". Species with longer tapering tails are generally referred to as "Lorikeets", while species with short blunt tails are generally referred to as "Lories".
Lories and
Lorikeets have specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar and soft
fruits. They can feed from the flowers of about 5,000 species of plants and use
their specialized tongues to suck the nectar. The tips of their tongue have
tufts of papillae which collect nectar and pollen.
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