On Seeing Musk Lorikeets Poem by Francis Duggan

On flowering gum trees I have often seen
Parrots with red cheeks and red faces though mostly green
Whilst feeding of huiman kind they don't seem shy
They chirp and feed though watcher stands nearby.

With their probing tongues they take nectar from the flowers
And they often feed on the one tree for hours
They blend in well with the foilage of the tree
And they are never easy birds to see.

In search of flowering gums many miles they do fly
They fly high and fast in their travels in the sky
You may see them on a flowering gum today
But tomorrow from here they may be many miles away.

Such pretty birds mostly green with patches of red
Around the cheek and the face and the head
Nectar eating parrots birds I know by sight
Quite beautiful when seen in the sunlight.