Yellow-cheeked Lorikeet

The yellow-cheeked lorikeet is a small Sulawesi parrot about 20 cm long and 40–50 g. Adults have dark green upperparts, a greenish-brown hindcrown and nape, and yellow cheeks, throat and ear-coverts, with dusty-green barring across the yellow areas. Both sexes look alike. It is also called Meyer’s lorikeet or mustard-capped lorikeet. Taxonomic sources variously place it in Trichoglossus or Saudareos (World Parrot Trust; BirdForum taxonomy account).

It inhabits forest mainly in hilly country, though birds also occur at lower and higher elevations and sometimes enter more open areas. Flocks search for flowering trees and feed on blossoms, particularly Erythrina and Euphorbia. World Parrot Trust notes nesting high in mossy tree cavities, but the sources opened did not give clutch or incubation figures. The species was formerly combined with the Sula lorikeet under the name citrine lorikeet (BirdForum account citing Birds of the World; Wikipedia taxonomy account).