Lovebird
| Peachfaced Lovebird (dutch blue)' | ||||||||||||||
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| Agapornis roseicollis |
A lovebird (genus Agapornis, which is Greek for "lovebird") is a very social and affectionate parrot.
The name lovebird stems from their affectionate nature. They form a very close bond with their mate, which will usually last their entire life. This is reflected by their name in other languages: in German they are called "die Unzertrennlichen" and in French "les inseperables", meaning the inseperables. For this reason it is often believed that lovebirds in captivity can only be kept in pairs. It is however possible for a lovebird to bond with their owner, given a lot of love and attention.
Lovebirds are about 13-17cm in size, 40-60 grams in weight and characterized by a small, stocky build and a short, blunt tail. This puts them among the smallest parrots in the world. The beak is rather large for their overall size. Many lovebirds are green, although color mutations can feature all kinds of different colors. Some lovebird species, like Fischer's, black cheeked and the yellow collared lovebird, have a white ring around their eye. Their lifespan is 10 to 15 years.
Eight of the different subspecies come from the mainland of Africa. The ninth species, the agapornis canus, originates from Madagascar. In the wild the different species are seperated geographically. Lovebirds live in small flocks and eat mainly fruit, vegetables, some grasses and seed. Black winged lovebirds also enjoy Figs
Unlike many of the larger parrots, which have already been kept as pets even by Alexander the Great, lovebirds were first brought to Europe during the 18th century. Pet birds are now bred in captivity.
Only some of the lovebird species are sexually dimorphic. This includes the black-winged lovebird, the grey headed lovebird, the red faced lovebird and the black collared lovebird.
There are a total of 9 different subspecies:
- Grey-headed Lovebird, Agapornis canus
- Red-faced Lovebird, Agapornis pullarius
- Black-winged Lovebird, Agapornis taranta
- Black-collared Lovebird, Agapornis swinderniana
- Rosy-faced/Peachfaced Lovebird, Agapornis roseicollis
- Fischer's Lovebird, Agapornis fischeri
- Yellow-collared Lovebird, Agapornis personatus
- Lilian's Lovebird, Agapornis lilianae
- Black-cheeked Lovebird, Agapornis nigrigeni
