Meet Harry – one of the many birds that visit my house daily. Harry is a wild rainbow lorikeet  and he loves sunflower seeds, and the occasional cheeky little scratch under his beak. 

I previously had a large aviary in my backyard to house pet budgies, but I now have to admit that after the relationship I have formed with Harry and the other regular daily bird visitors, I would feel uncomfortable caging birds.

Before setting up a bird feeder, make sure you check your local government regulations on feeding wild birds

Rainbow lorikeets are native to Australia but can now also be found in some parts of New Zealand and Asia.

Rainbow lorikeets always travel in pairs and are monogamous and pair for life. The best way to tell the difference between males and females is that males have a  larger concentration of  orange on their breast and a female has more yellow on hers. Rainbow lorikeets can live for over 20 years in the wild.

Apart from sunflower seeds – rainbow lorikeets also love fruit, pollen and nectar. In Australia,most pet stores stock a special lorikeet food-blend that they love too. Like any other bird do not feed rainbow lorikeets bread.

Here are some of the best zoos and wildlife parks in Australia where you can hand-feed rainbow lorikeets.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary 
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

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