Rainbow Lorikeets apparently harvesting orange fungal spores from the underside of willow leaves

Abstract

The diet of Rainbow Lorikeets Trichoglossus moluccanus consists largely of nectar and pollen, with some fruit, leaf buds, bark and insects and, more recently, meat provided at bird-feeders. Here, I describe an instance of Rainbow Lorikeets apparently harvesting fungal spores from the underside of leaves of Weeping Willow Salix babylonica, a food item not previously recorded.