The Chalcopsitta genus
This genus contains four species of large, long-tailed lories--three from New Guinea and one from the islands to the east. Diamond (1972) commented on their evolutionary history, describing three of them as "a superspecies ring in the New Guinea lowlands, with contact between populations having been broken and reestablished a number of times. The genus consists of three virtually allopatric semispecies, whose distributions now form an incomplete circle around the periphery of New Guinea."
The genus Chalcopsitta is notable for the fact that each member has the basic plumage coloration different: one black, one brown, one green and one red.
In the field, Chalcopsitta can be distinguished from other lories by the larger size combined with distinctive flight. According to Beehler, Pratt and Zimmerman (1986), their wing beats are rapid and shallow but their progress is slow "making it seem as if the birds are working hard for little return."
There is a scarcity of information about the status or biology of the three mainland New Guinea species. Most knowledge comes from the avicultural literature. In captivity, the care and breeding of each species differs little except in regard to diet. Black and Duyvenbode's are mainly nectar feeders who also accept fruit, while the yellow-streaked and the cardinal take other items, such as fresh corn and other vegetables.
Literature
- Low, R (1998): Hancock House Encyclopedia of the Lories. (189) Hancock House Publishers Ltd.