 Alternate common names include porphyry-crowned lorikeet, Dietrichsen's lory, and Zit parrot, from its shrill call.Measuring around 15 cm (6 in) long, the male purple-crowned lorikeet is a small lorikeet with a dark purple crown, a yellow-orange forehead and ear-coverts, deepening to orange lores, and green upperparts, tinted bronze on the mantle and nape.The chin, chest and belly are a conspicuous powder blue, while the thighs and under-tail coverts are yellowish-green.