A sweet little birdie called Lovejoy 💖

[LaManuka]

Many of you here will remember that I lost my little Crown Princess, my Lilly Pilly, back in January, and how the circumstances surrounding the loss of my precious girlie-bird completely broke my heart. Since then, I’ve been very conflicted over whether getting another was such a good idea, so I shelved it for a few months, thinking that it would happen eventually if indeed it was meant to be.

I feel my Lilly’s presence here always, but she has also in no uncertain terms visited me several times since July, reassuring me that she is ok at the Rainbow Bridge, and emboldening me to put a few feelers out to see if perhaps there was a lorikeet baby out there somewhere for me, and in doing so I made contact with a breeder of Varied lorikeets only about an hour or so away from where we live. Given how extremely difficult nesting season had always been for my poor Lilly I had already determined that if I was ever going to get another lorikeet it would have to be a rooster, and as it happened this breeder had not one but three little fledgling roosters in this year’s clutch! This little one has been home here with me for 2 weeks now, has had his visit to our avian vet and all the relevant testing done and thankfully no hidden nasties were revealed. So without further ado, may I introduce you all to Lovejoy, the Varied lorikeet …

For anyone wondering about his name, “Lovejoy” is a fictional character from British literature, and the books were also turned into a TV series. It centres around a rather mischievous but eminently loveable (and handsome) central character of the same name, and I think those traits match those of lorikeets rather well. And in fact, when I was in the process of obtaining Lilly back in 2018 I had two names picked out. Had Lilly been a boy I’d have called her “Lovejoy”, so it seems appropriate to use that name now, particularly given how much influence Lilly has had in guiding me to find this precious little rooster. With all my heart I will always wish that I hadn’t had to lose my little jewel, my Lilly Pilly, to have gotten to this point, but given the way all the pieces have fallen into place, I know that her claw prints are all over this and that she approves of Lovejoy being here.

 

[saxguy64]

Awwwwwwww, welcome to the flock, my newest favorite Aussie nephew, Lovejoy!

Oh my goodness, he's so stinking cute! I'm so happy for you to have gotten to this place. I know what a long road it's been. The stars have aligned, and he's just perfect, and I might add, very lucky to have found himself in your care. He could not possibly ask for a better birdie Mama!

I believe some congratulations are in order for the both of you!

 

[LaManuka]

Thank you, Uncle Fred! Yes it has been quite the journey, and a very painful one too, but this baby boy is the light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel and his dadda and I could not be happier that he is here Fang, Jem and Val however are yet to be convinced ....

 

[Rozalka]

Welcome Lovejoy! You are so cute. Now you're my newest Aussie nephew

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome Lovejoy! You are so cute. Now you're my newest Aussie nephew

Thank you Aunty Rozzy! He is indeed VERY cute, and pretty darned smart too. One day he hopes to grow up to be as smart as my favourite Polish nephew, Zenek!

 

[Rozalka]

How old is he? I'm feeling like he's young

 

[LaManuka]

How old is he? I'm feeling like he's young

I'm not exactly sure of his hatch date, but he's about 13/14 weeks old now. Happily eating everything I put in front of him like a little champion too!

 

[foxgloveparrot]

LOVEJOY!!! Welcome!!

 

[Laurasea]

Congratulations Lamanku!!!
Lovejoy is gorgeous I'm so excited to learn all about this species!

May Lovejoy have a long and happy healthy life full of love with you! Welcome home Lovejoy!!

I have no doubt your precious Lilly Pilly did guide you. I have profound empathy of your loss as I know you do over my loss of Neptune.

I didn't think I could ever share my life with another blue quaker. But I felt Neptune when I found miserable unhappy Phoebe. He let me see her, and not a constant ghost of himself.


So much joy for you! Lovejoy absolutely fantastic name!! Such a happy name!

More pictures! More facts about this species please!

 

[Terry57]

Welcome home Lovejoy, you have hit the home lotto!
Mart, I am so happy that Lilly guided you to him, that's exactly how I felt about our puppy, that our boys led me to her.
It made me cry to read this, I'm so happy you have a precious new love. After everything you've been through, this feels meant to be.
May you all have a very long life together!

He is stunning, please please keep the pictures coming!

 

[SailBoat]

It has been a long morning attempting to find an open screen anywhere at the Amsterdam MY-N Hangars. It seems that everyone was viewing and color printing so many likenesses of Lovejoy as he has become a Poster Boy at near every Hen's deck.

Deeply felt Congratulations from the Boats' Household Dear Friend.

Lovejoy has those innocents of a young Rooster expressions going, but just behind is the early signs of a Rooster of Royalty!

There is no question that Lilly Pilly is at the bridge and so Very Happy that her hard work of creating a special place next to hers, within both of your hearts, has been filled. I'm certain that she has left a special message for your Rooster to find and read.

Cheers Dear Friend!!

 

[HeatherG]

Congratulations! I’m happy for you and Lovejoy. May you two have many years of joy and love.

 

[LaManuka]

Thank you to all of Lovejoy's new aunties and uncles for your very kind and warm welcomes! Lovejoy and I have just spent the last almost 2 hours in a MASSIVE post-breakfast snuggle/preen/tweet/beak grind/scritch fest and I was perfectly happy to let him sit there and take advantage of me for SO long that my arm went to sleep!! He's just such a happy baby birdie!

And yes, @Laurasea, I did think of you and your precious Neptune quite a bit during this whole process, how much of a heart-and-soul bird he was for you, just as my Lilly was for me. Even though Lovejoy is certainly not a ghost of Lilly, and according to my bird vet who used to breed varieds himself, they are a totally different personality type to purple crowns, it almost feels as though I have my Lilly back in Lovejoy. Not replacing her, nobirdy ever could do that, but actually having her back, that's how much of her spirit is present in him, and always will be in my heart and in this house where *everything* revolved around her. It's hard to explain in words, it has to be felt with the heart. But when it's right, it's right, and I know that everyone who has commented on this thread so far understands that feeling very well.

Anyhow, as per the request for more pics, by way of illustration as to just how tiny Lovejoy is, I got a snap of him with Val. I do think he's got a little more growing to do yet, and Val is a pretty big budgie, but he is TINY!! And oh, what a sweet singing voice he has too, I'm still working on getting some audio as he seems to be a little camera shy when it comes to recording vocals. I don't know if it's a Varied thing or a Lovejoy thing, but he sings like a little angel, and I've never heard another lorikeet sing this way. Not surprising really, cos that's exactly what he is

 

[Littleredbeak]

He is beautiful!!! Congratulations on Lovejoy! He is so tiny! I can't wait to watch him grow

 

[Laurasea]

You need a flock thread now@

He is gorgeous! A little king.. So rare in pet trade i read. Will need lots of updates

 

[LaManuka]

You need a flock thread now@

He is gorgeous! A little king.. So rare in pet trade i read. Will need lots of updates

You’re right, @Laurasea, like purple crowns they’re much more popular as aviary birds, likely because people don’t want to have to deal with liquid lorikeet poop, and also up until only last year we needed a license from the State government to keep them. That requirement was removed for many species in Queensland last year, not sure about the other States, but my vet suspects that may result in them becoming more popular as pets now as that bit of government red tape has been lifted.

Oh and he and Val are out in the bird room spending a little quality time together just now, probably the best they’ve gotten along since Lovejoy joined the flock in fact. As much as I’d like him to become my little Velcro bird, I would love it if he and Val got on and became best little mates. That was what I had hoped for Val with Lilly, but as a purple crowned hen with an extremely bad attitude, she did not mix well with others! Unlike our previous purple crown, Sludge, and his best budgie buddy Pete from way back in the 90s/early 00s who got along famously, that’s what I would hope for Lovejoy and Val, they are just TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute together!!

 

[Cottonoid]

Oh @LaManuka !!! He is just DARLING!!!!! What a gift

I was picturing him the size of a GCC until I saw your photo of he and Val! So adorable and small! I have a feeling that's what Cotton would look like next to an Indian Ringneck

Congratulations from me and Cotton too!!

 

[Rozalka]

I just noticed how short tail he has - honestly, I thought varied lorikeets had longer tails

In the past I thought a bit like Cottonoid picturing Psitteuteles lorikeets as the same size as Trichoglossus until I saw Goldie's lorikeets (now Glossoptilus genus) irl - I was surprised by their small size. Later I was surprised by purple crowned lorikeets size seeing Lilly with Val in one picture... Knowing that in the past varied lorikeets were in the same genus as Goldie's and now their closest cousins are supposed to be Parvipsitta lorikeets... this time I'm not surprised

Why are small lorikeets so cute...

 

[LaManuka]

I just noticed how short tail he has - honestly, I thought varied lorikeets had longer tails

In the past I thought a bit like Cottonoid picturing Psitteuteles lorikeets as the same size as Trichoglossus until I saw Goldie's lorikeets (now Glossoptilus genus) irl - I was surprised by their small size. Later I was surprised by purple crowned lorikeets size seeing Lilly with Val in one picture... Knowing that in the past varied lorikeets were in the same genus as Goldie's and now their closest cousins are supposed to be Parvipsitta lorikeets... this time I'm not surprised

Why are small lorikeets so cute...

Ooooohhhh Rozzy, Goldie's lorikeets are another dream bird of mine, just so gorgeous!! Lovely temperament too from what I hear, but they're pretty rare in Australia and hideously expensive.

My bird vet, who used to breed varieds himself many years ago, tells me that Lovejoy's tail will be a little longer when he moults into his adult plumage, and he should get some more red in his chest feathers too. According to him, the colour varies (!) depending on their location, they have more red in Queensland and it becomes less pronounced the further west you go, as varieds are found across the far north of Queensland, the Northern Territory and into Western Australia. So it will depend on where Lovejoy's ancestors came from as to what he'll look like as an adult, and I am so looking forward to seeing that!

 

[LaManuka]

Apart from being extremely handsome and charming, young Lovejoy as it turns out it quite the little singer too! A bit elusive though, this is as close as I can get to him and get audio, any closer and he clams up and is more interested in playing with my phone instead