Microfunctional Flexibility

In order to solicit feeding, rainbow lorikeets will resort to all four microfunctions.

Regular visitors simply announce their presence (personal microfunction) with a clear short high call when they arrive.

Impatient visitors will solicit the provision of food (instrumental microfunction) with an insistent high rising call similar to the calls used by young chicks on their parents.

Immature impatient visitors will express their disapproval (regulatory microfunction) with harsh barking calls they use on each other for bullying purposes.

Mature regular visitors will even try to groom the feeder (interactional microfunction) with louder versions of the cooing/purring sounds they use when grooming each other.