Rainbow lorikeet

Size around 25 to 30 cm including tail, head is blue with a greenish-yellow nuchal collar, and the rest of the upper parts (wings, back and tail) are deep green. The chest is red with blue-black barring. The belly is deep green, and the thighs and rump are yellow with deep green barring. In flight a yellow wing-bar contrasts clearly with the red underwing coverts.

There is little to visually distinguish between the sexes; however, to a keen observer of their colouring and behaviour, their dimorphism is readily apparent.

Juveniles have a black beak, which gradually brightens to orange in the adults.

The markings of Trichoglossus moluccanus resemble those of the Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus), but with a blue belly and a more orange breast with little or no blue-black barring
Unlike the eclectus parrot, rainbow lorikeets do not have any immediately discernible dimorphic traits. Males and females look identical, and surgical sexing by a vet or DNA analysis of a feather is used to determine the sex of an individual.[9][10]

Upon closer observation of their colouring, size and behaviour however, it is possible to determine the sex of a rainbow lorikeet.

This process is made easier when one observes them in pairs; however the general rules are that a male will have a greater concentration of dark orange on his breast as opposed to the more pronounced bleeding of yellow into orange of a female.

The male will also be more robust across the breast and traditionally have a thicker, more square head whilst the female sports a more rounded visage.

When feeding in a flock during breeding season, the male will often puff up and produce a threatening display, hopping around his partner as she feeds and ensuring that competitors for food do not interrupt her ingestion of food.