Taxonomy
The Collared Lory was first described by German naturalist Georg Adolf Suckow in 1800, and placed in the genus Phigys by English naturalist George Robert Gray in 1870. It is a monotypic species of the genus Phigys. The species is sometimes considered to be in the genus Vini.
The Fijian name is Kula. The bird was prized throughout western Polynesia for its vibrant plumage and the maritime trading networks based on "kula" feathers existed between Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga up until colonial times. Both the bird and its plumage are called "ula" in Samoan and "kula" in Tongan. Alternate common names include Fiji-Lory, Ruffled-Lory, and Solitary Lory. The last is a misnomer as the species isn't solitary.
Read more about this topic: Collared Lory