The common name aptly describes this bird, which has yellow breast feathers broadly edged with green that look like scales.

[4] The crown and sides of head are emerald-green slightly tinged with blue, while the feathers of the back of the neck and throat and breast are yellow, broadly edged with green, giving scaly appearance.

The lower flanks, thighs and undertail-coverts green are strongly marked with yellow, while the underwing-coverts are orange-red.

[5] They are generally confined to coastal plains and adjacent tablelands; occasionally found along watercourses west of the Great Dividing Range.

An observer beneath a tree where scaly-breasted lorikeets are feeding may take some time to spot the birds.

The scaly-breasted lorikeet is usually seen in small flocks, flying overhead, or feeding among the outermost branches of flowering trees.

Both species feed mainly on nectar, such as that from the broad-leaved paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia),[7] and pollen, but they also eat blossoms, berries, other fruit, and insects and their larvae.

They are very fond of cultivated fruits and often cause damage in orchards; they also raid sorghum and maize crops to feed on unripe milky grain.

These birds nest in hollow trees, usually high above the ground, with a layer of wood dust serving as a mattress at the bottom.