A flock of small, brightly colored parrots are ready for their close-ups with visitors at the National Aviary.

When children and adults enter the new walk-through exhibit tomorrow, the rainbow-hued lorikeets will greet them, flying down from trees and landing on their heads, hands and shoulders -- especially if they're holding small cups of fruity nectar.

The 23 lorikeets came out of the aviary's quarantine area Tuesday and were put into the new interactive "Lories & Friends" exhibit. Visitors won't be able to touch the birds until tomorrow, when the walk-through portion of the exhibit opens.

"Everyone who comes through will be helping us train the birds," said Nicole Begley, supervisor of animal programs at the North Side facility. "Lorikeets are extremely curious, inquisitive birds" that quickly warm up to -- and land on -- strangers.

Lorikeets are members of the parrot family. They are bigger than parakeets but much smaller than macaws. Each bird is multihued in a range of vivid colors, including emerald green, orange, midnight blue, ruby red and lemon yellow. They are native to Australia, southeast Asia and several Pacific islands.

Most of the Pittsburgh lorikeets are younger than 6 months, though several are a couple of years old. Their life span is 20 to 25 years -- much shorter than some species of very large parrots, which can live 60 to 80 years.

None of the birds was caught in the wild. Some were bred and raised in U.S. zoos and aviaries, while others came from breeders in Florida and California.

The first thing visitors will notice is the "lories," as they are called, keep up a loud, non-stop patter of chatter, chirps and screeches.

"They are highly social, which is why they work in an exhibit like this," said Linda A. Dickerson, chief executive officer of the aviary. "Because they are social, they vocalize a lot, which is why it is so loud here."

Tomorrow, visitors will be given free cups of nectar, which is the mainstay of the lorikeets' diet. After that, the cups will be $2 each.

About 20 people will be allowed to walk -- not run -- through the exhibit at a time. They'll be advised not to pick up the birds and to let the lories fly to them. People, and birds, will be closely supervised.

An exhibit preview for news media and staff proved that the birds quickly warm up to strangers. In addition to sipping from the nectar cups, the little parrots use their long tongues to lick arms and fingers. They are quite gentle, though an inquisitive bird will sometimes make a little pecking or nibbling motion with their beak. Staff gently tell the birds "no" -- that's part of the training process.

Many bird keepers think parrots are smarter than dogs, Ms. Begley said, and they can be trained. At the National Aviary, the training includes encouraging birds to land on hands and arms, rather than on the heads of people.

Visitors will be advised: Don't be worried when the birds flock to you. They're just curious.

The aviary is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; "Lories & Friends" will be open only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nectar cups will be sold for feedings from 10 to 11 a.m., noon to 1 p.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7.50 for children 3 and older, and free for children 2 and younger.