The varied lorikeet (Psitteuteles versicolor), is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that is endemic to the northern coastal regions of Australia.

The first depiction of the species was included in a seminal folio by Edward Lear, the subject of his illustration has since been lost and it became recognised as the holotype.

The image was published as the thirty sixth lithographic plate in September 1831, without a location or description, in his work Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots (1830–32) depicting live specimens in English zoological exhibitions and private collections.

[2][3] The source of the specimen, according to Richard Schodde (1997), was incorrectly determined as "Cape York", a location proposed by Gregory Mathews in 1912 and subsequently repeated.

[1] it Ranges from Broome in WA across into the Gulf (NT), south to Mt Isa and north to the Jardine River in Qld.