Introductions and our First Guest

Hello, everyone, and Welcome to this new venture of mine.  Prepare to be amazed by all the beautiful and vibrant life I am discovering here in Australia! Hold on to your brainhats, because not only will your eyes be bulging from your face in awe, but I will blow your minds with facts and random trivia about all these delightful specimens!
You will all regret my present unemployment, until you realize how much you desperately wanted to know the airspeed velocity of a coconut-laden Australian spar---wait. Sorry, I probably should warn you now. I'm a dork. I like to think it makes me lovable. If you're the sort of person who's accepting of that sort of thing. If not well...It's okay, because sometimes I irritate me too!

Also, there's no such thing as an Australian sparrow. That was a blatant abuse of an over-used reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I should probably apologize for that too but I'm not sorry.

This is not real.

ANYWAY. Enough of these ADD introductory shenanigans! You came here for something to feast your starving eyes with! Something to satiate your desperate need to cast away your drab existence for the exotic and exemplary! Since we're on the topic of birds, let's start with a colourful local resident. For you Australians, our guest needs no introduction. For the rest of you...

*eh eh ehm* <ANNOUNCER VOICE>
And now, entering the arena! Weighing in at a measly 2.6-5.5 oz! Measuring only 25-30cm in length! They're loud! They're proud! They're so rainbow they look like a kindergartner with a Pride Parade Crayon Set...

Theyyyyy're RAINBOW LORIKEETS!!!  *raucous screams and applause*

Awwwww yeah!

Okay, settle down, settle DOWN. You'll scare them away!! Goodness, didn't anyone ever teach you basic nature etiquette? Were you raised in a BARN?! Okay, much better, thank you. Moving forward.Rainbow lorikeets are one of my favorite birds here in Sydney. Why? Time for some introduction-post-worthy BACK STORY:

I grew up in Tempe, Arizona, which is part of the greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area.  For those of you unfamiliar with Southwestern U.S. Geography, this means I grew up in a city in the Sonoran Desert. Also, within easy day trip distance of a plethora of ecosystems such as Coniferous mountain forests, juniper foothills, brushy nasty plateau-land near the great Grand Canyon, and still others. It's beautiful and never boring.

Magnificent

 For the last 7 years, I lived in Kansas until I graduated Veterinary School. Yes, I am already aware of the hilarious coincidence that I, like another dog-loving pigtail-toting Kansan, have moved from Kansas to "Oz".

Make this joke again, and I'll get you! And your little dog too!

I'm also not from the "flatlands" that many Americans complain about and everyone seems to think encompasses the whole of the midwest. I lived in the Flint Hills Grassland, in the Konza Prairie. This is rolling (but flat-topped) hill country, folks. From the top of a hill, I could coast my old F-250 almost an entire mile in neutral.  It's also absolutely breathtaking. At the height of the growing season, it's truly Amber Waves.
 

My photography does not do this justice.

But you know what my flora and fauna have always been lacking?

EXUBERANCE

You see, Desert Animals are designed to blend in with the desert (which is mostly brown/light-green). Grassland birds often have flashes of color, or subtle colouration, but most of the truly resplendent avians are shy, uncommon or outright endangered. The only common bright bird was the Cardinal, and even they were fairly boring once you got used to them. They're just Red.

And Rainbow Lorikeets? Well...

I'm SUPER FABULOUS

Best of all, they are everywhere. Even if I were to get bored of ours, there's a handful subspecies that all look just a little different. For example, the Swainson's Lorikeet has a blue belly and no chest bars (pictured just above), and the Rosenburg's Lorikeet is darker with very strong black barring on the chest, as well as a wider yellow patch on the neck.

Rainbow Lorikeets are enthralling to watch. They are parrots, after all. They're clever, acrobatic, and they play with each other (and their food!). Some people have them as pets and--as intelligent fellows--they can learn tricks and speech, as well as how to effectively train their owners to behave according to their parroty guidelines. In the wild, they'll group together, but they're less "flocking birds" like geese and more "neighborly" like us (it's only polite!).  You can ahead and picture them with little twig-picket fences, a missus and 1.5 chicklets.  They're monogamous like humans, and mate for life. Probably lack the stereotypical Labrador/Golden Retriver, though.

Lorikeets in our Foxglove tree

I am incredibly lucky, in that we have a beautiful Foxglove tree in our backyard. My fiance (who will hereafter be referred to as The Love) dislikes the tree, as it rains flowers in the pool. I love the tree. It's elegant, incredibly fragrant (reminiscent of Jasmine) and the lorikeets LOVE IT. You see, Rainbow lorikeets eat fruits, pollen and nectar. They have special tongues designed to help them draw the nectar from the flowers. So this tree is pretty much the All You Can Drink Buffet, but it's also a party where the birds have flowerhats, chatter away and hang upside down to eat (probably just because they can). Cheeky bastards!

I have yet to tire of watching them, and they are pure delight. I'll always have a special place in my heart for my Cactus Wrens and Medowlarks...but now I live somewhere that has more freakin' parrots than sparrows.

And that is why I started this blog.

Next Episode: "Rainbow Lorikeet: Part B" or "Technicolor Trickster or Painted Pest?!"

Links:
Wikipedia Entry
"Birds in Backyards" Link
Pet Information from Burke's Backyard