It was the perfect spring evening. We’d just made home-made pesto pasta and sat down to eat on the front porch. We are incredibly lucky to live on top of a hill with views out over Belconnen and to the Brindabellas in the distance.
As we were enjoying the views and the setting sun, we noticed two Rainbow Lorikeets fly into the tree across the road. They flew up to the foliage near the crown of the tree and hung upside down together, facing each other and flapping such that they twirled around and around. They continued like this for maybe 20 seconds, then dropped off the tree and flew around the neighbourhood before returning to the same tree and repeating. They did it enough (3 or 4 times) that I could run inside and get my camera in time for some images.
I wonder what they were doing. They certainly weren’t fighting. They were making soft chattering noises to each other, not the loud, boisterous sounds they often make. When I looked at the photos afterwards on the computer I couldn’t see any frame where there cloacas would be touching, so perhaps they weren't mating. Yet nonetheless it certainly had an air of the romantic. Some kind of romantic lorikeet courtship ritual, carefully chosen to incorporate sunset and excellent views?
Whatever they were doing, it was an incredibly beautiful moment to witness.
