Leaf Lorikeet is also known as the Flores Lorikeet or Weber’s Lorikeet. They are endemic to the Indonesian island of Flores. They use to be considered a subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet but are believed by many to be a separate species.
This species is found in rainforest, Casuarinas, and secondary forest at 1,200-1,550 m. Birds have been recorded in breeding condition in June and breeding has been reported between February and August (White and Bruce 1986, Reeve and Rabenak 2016).
Habitat destruction through the combined impacts of firewood collection, commercial logging, timber extraction for construction materials, and clearance for agriculture together may represent the most pertinent threat. The loss and fragmentation of forests is already extensive on Flores, where no semi-evergreen forest below 1,000 m is included within gazetted protected areas. These threats are compounded by human population expansion, with large volumes of timber required for housing construction, and the fact that there is little or no governmental enforcement of laws.
Moist deciduous forest is currently being extensively cleared through land grabbing and establishment of agricultural areas, a factor that is inevitably reducing the range and population of this species. Forest clearance continues in the coastal belt to make way for crops, and illegal logging continues in protected areas. It is presumed that trapping for the wild bird trade represents a further threat, as it does for other species in the T. haemotodus complex).
Flores / Leaf Lorikeet
Estimate population and assess population trend and scale of trapping pressure. Conduct a targeted survey for the species to identify important sites, with a view to affording them protection. Conduct research into its status and habitat use (with particular regard to feeding ecology and forest fragmentation) such that long-term management of the species is facilitated. Monitor trade to investigate whether this presents a significant threat. Initiate awareness campaigns to elicit the support of local people in protecting forests.
