Rainbow lorikeets eating meat leaves bird experts astonished

Two rainbow lorikeets tuck into pets mince in a backyard feeder in Elimbah. Image by Matt WatsonThe behaviour of a population of rainbow lorikeets who frequent a backyard feeding station on a property north of Brisbane has left bird experts baffled.

The lorikeets are eating meat and Griffith University's Professor Darryl Jones is shocked.

Professor Jones, who is researching the impact of backyard feeding on bird populations, said lorikeets usually eat nectar and pollen which they obtain from native plants and shrubs.

"I have researched what birds feed on all around the world," Professor Jones said.

"I'm up to date with all the kinds of crazy things that birds are eating all over Australia.

"To see a lorikeet eating meat astonishes me completely. I have never heard of such a thing before."

For years, Bill, who owns the Elimbah property, has put out pets mince for magpies, currawongs and kookaburras.

He also puts out seed for vegetarian birds like galahs, king parrots and the lorikeets.

He feeds about a dozen birds each day and knows they are spoilt for choice when it comes to food.

A population of rainbow lorikeets enjoying a feed of meat while a bird waits patiently on the fence for its turn. Image by Matt WatsonBill's property is home to native trees and shrubs, and there is untouched forest nearby.

He is happy to offer a few scoops of mince and seed to the birds that come in for a free feed.

It was about seven years ago when Bill first noticed the lorikeets eating meat, and they have been eating it ever since.

"At first they went for the seed but then they started chasing the other birds away from the meat, which surprised me," he said.

Professor surprised lorikeets are defending meat

Professor Jones said the availability of food on the property made the lorikeet's decision to eat meat mystifying.

"It makes no sense at all," he said.

"It makes me wonder very strongly that these particular birds, the individuals in the picture, are probably needing some protein.

"But the birds look extremely healthy in those pictures."

Rainbow lorikeets have baffled scientists with their meat-eating behaviour. Image by Matt WatsonHe said lorikeets always get around in pairs and tend to be nasty with other bird species when it comes to food.

He said it is not surprising that the lorikeets are chasing magpies and kookaburras away from the meat.

"What is unusual is that the food that they're defending is actually meat," Professor Jones said.

"That's the strange part about it.

"Maybe the lorikeets saw what the other birds were eating and simply decided to try it and liked it.

"It's extremely unusual."

Professor Jones believed that lorikeets eating meat had never been documented before.

"If it was a genuine idea that lorikeets would eat meat I'm sure it would've come up by now," he said.

He said the lorikeet population had increased dramatically in south-east Queensland in the past decade.

What once was a common species has now become the most abundant bird in the south east.

Professor Jones said people tend to plant native, nectar-bearing plants in their gardens and local councils do the same in their parks, which provides ample food for lorikeets and other birds.

He said lorikeets are also being fed by thousands of Queenslanders in backyard feeders.

"I would very much like to know if people who put out meat for other birds are getting lorikeets coming and eating it as well," he said.

Wildlife carer says she is 'horrified'

Licensed wildlife carer Fran Sanders has been looking after native animals and birds in Brisbane for 25 years.

She has never seen lorikeets eating meat or heard of them doing it.

"I'm absolutely amazed and horrified," Ms Sanders said.

She has assisted hundreds of people who backyard feed mince to carnivores like butcher birds and magpies and kookaburras.

"I've never heard any of them talk about lorikeets coming down and eating mince," she said.

"I know when people are backyard feeding, lots of birds will come down and eat because it's easy.

"Like us I suppose they get a little bit of a lazy streak and they come down and it saves them hunting or finding food.

"They will eat things that aren't really their food."

Rainbow lorikeets take over a backyard feeding station as the bird they kicked out waits patiently on the fence for them to finish. Image by Matt Watson

Of the lorikeets eating meat at Elimbah, Ms Sanders has no answers.

"Whether it's just a habit they've started because it's there and they've found it, I don't know," she said.

"They're not meat eaters, that's for sure.

"It's incredible, I'm just so stunned."

Ms Sanders said although people enjoy backyard feeding birds, they need to be careful with the food they put out.

She said birds do not naturally eat seeds, which can damage their tongues, preventing them from naturally feeding on pollen and nectar.

"And meat like pets mince can cause fatty liver disease in carnivorous birds."

Professor Darryl Jones would like to hear from anyone who has observed lorikeets eating meat.