Loriini

Lories and lorikeets (tribe Loriini) are small to medium-sized arboreal parrots. They have special brush-tipped tongues to feed on nectar of blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. 

They are a monophyletic group in the parrot family Psittacidae. Sequence analysis and morphology show that the group is in the middle of other groups. 

They are widely distributed throughout the Australasian region, including south-eastern Asia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Australia, and the majority have very brightly coloured plumage.

Those studies show that the lories and lorikeets form a single group, closely related to the budgerigar and the fig parrots.

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