Mundane as Australian suburbia might be, we often do get interesting visitors. This web page contains a selection of recent suburban wildlife pictures of interest.

The Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus), is a colourful nectar eating parrot, which is typically found in rainforest, eucalypt forests, and other woodland habitats. The species is now well established in most Australian capitals, and an introduced population exists in Perth, where the species is often regarded to be a pest. While Rainbow Lorikeets may be attractive, they will destroy fruit and where introduced, aggressively compete against established native species.

The bright plumage of the Rainbow Lorikeet is highly specialised camouflage, which is very effective in eucalypt treetop habitats. The combination of colours is well matched spectrally to the environment, and the birds can be difficult to photograph when feeding as a result.

These images of lorikeets foraging for nectar in a suburban eucalypt tree in Noble Park were captured in mid January, 2014, mostly using a Sigma AF 400mm f/5.6 APO prime lens on a Nikon D7100, with some produced using a Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro zoom lens. The good colour rendering in these images is mostly a result of the 14-bit colour depth of the D7100 sensor, captured RAW, and the use of apochromatic lenses.