Abstract
Many people think the difference between a lory and a lorikeet is size, which is not true. The difference is the shape of the tail. The lorikeets have a tapered tail similar to macaws, conures and parakeets. A lory has more of a rounded tail similar to Amazons, African Greys, and cockatoos.
I fell in love with lories in the late 1970's and my first lory was a Black-Capped lory of the Lori us lory erythorothax subspecies. I had her for many years and she was so tame I could trust her with young children to adults. I took her to many events with me over the years. I was told it was a male, however after traveling and being at an event with me, she became egg bound. I did not know to watch for this, as I thought it was a male. I was heartbroken when she died, and I was lost without a lory in my life.
Now I live with over a dozen lories that are kept in my house.
Tips for keeping lories as pets in the house are at the end of this article. Several of my lories have come to live with me when they needed a new home, their owners could not keep them for various reasons, some were not cared for properly because people thought they could just feed them seed or did not want the mess of having a lory. One was found lose outside and the owner could not be located. People in my area know that lories are a passion for me and the birds will have a good home.
Trichoglossus species oflorikeets are commonly referred to as Rainbow lories. At one time they were popular at zoo exhibits, and many are kept as pets. In my experience the Forsten' s lorikeetmake fabulous pets. My female insists on having her head rubbed any time I approach her cage or take her out to play. She is part of my education group, and shows the example of just because she is not perfect, does not mean she is not a great pet. The end of her wing was mutilated by the parents when she hatched. All healed just fine, but she looks as though the one wing had been pinioned. Not all adult birds are good parents, and she is an example of that. She was pulled from the nest when the injury was discovered and she was subsequently handfed. She is in perfect feather otherwise and has the beautiful sheen to her feathers due to the great condition she is in. She loves to play with anything, and everything is considered a toy. The male is quite entertaining as well. He loves to strut and arch his neck in the posturing that is common activity with the males. He loves to bounce on his perches and swing from the toys. He is also a fair talker. He was advertised on Craig's list and was severely plucked, and his feathers were very drab in color. Since he has been with me, his head feathers are starting to get the shine and glow back, and the feathers on his legs and chest are starting to come back in. I think his feathers will be as beautiful as my female once he goes through a full molt. For the time being, their cages are side by side, and both are great pets
The Swainson's lorikeet ( also called a Blue Mountain ) is also a great talker. Joey is very bonded to me, and loves to ride around the house with me as I do my daily activities. He allows other people to hold him, but will come to where I am every chance he gets. He also likes to play on the floor with toys, or to look out the window from the "Get a Grip" rope playground that hangs by the window. At events he is not as playful as he is here at home, but does well staying on his bungee perch and letting people take pictures of him. He was another lory who came to me in poor feather condition and was found loose outside. Someone obviously spent time with him, as he is super tame and has a large vocabulary.
My Rosenberg's lorikeet is a bit more shy, and does not play with hanging toys as much as the others, but loves to play in the bottom of the cage with what are commonly considered foot toys. Taking a bath in the water dish is her favored hobby. I have to check her water dish often as it will be empty from her bathing. She also loves a bath in the sink and will literally roll over to get wet everywhere. Lories love to have a large shallow dish for bathing. She does not talk as much as the other lories, but she loves to cuddle up to my chest and watch TV with me in the evening. Her personality is very different from the other Rainbow lories that live with me.