B.M & P.F Lovebirds
(Agapornis Personata) Masked Lovebird
(Agapornis Roseicollis) Peach-Faced Lovebird
Common Names: Lovebirds, Lovies
Description: In the normal form of Peach-faced Lovebirds the ear coverts (cheeks), chin, throat, and upper chest are pink-red. The forehead is a dark red in mature birds with the nape and back being green. Peachface Lovebird wings are green except for the primaries and secondaries which are a dark green-black color. They have a bright blue rump and upper tail converts which fades into green towards the bottom of the tail. On some birds there are red-orange and black spots on the tail. It is said that females are duller than males and have less red-orange in the tail. Although, I would not rely on this statement. However, I have noticed females do tend to be larger and more aggressive than males, have a further stance, and the tail feathers of hens are flared while the male seems to hold his tail feathers tightly which gives his tail more of a rounded appearance. Both sexes have a bright yellow-green underbelly, brown eyes with a faint white eye-ring , yellow beaks and gray legs.
In the normal form of Black-masked Lovebirds the crown, forehead, cheeks and upper nape are black-brown while the throat, chest, lower nape and upper back are yellow outlined with red-orange. The back, wings and tail are a dark green with the primary and secondary flight feathers being green-black. The end of the tail when flared shows a black-red band and the beak is dark red. There under belly is a bright yellow-green while the legs are gray. The Masked Lovebirds have brown eyes with wide white eye-rings. Both sexes look alike with no noticeable differences in posture or tail flaring. Although, they can be sexed by behavior as normally the hen only gathers nesting material and is slightly heavier.
Size: These birds range from 5-7 inches (13-18cm) with Peach-faced being the largest of the species.
Origin: Most lovebird species originated from South Africa with the exception of the Abyssinian which is from northeast Africa and the Madagascar which was first distributed in Malagasy Republic (Madagascar) a small island southeast of Africa.
Mutations/Sub-species: There are three groups with in lovebirds. The first is called the Sexually Dimorphic group which includes: Madagascar (Agapornis Cana) lovebirds, Red-faced (Agapornis Pullaria) and Abyssinian (Agapornis Taranta) lovebirds. This group has noticeable differences between the sexes. The Intermediate group includes: Peachface lovebirds (Agapornis Roseicollis) and Swinder's Black-collered (Agapornis Swinderniana) lovebirds. This group has only slight differences between the sexes. The last is the White Eye-Ring group which includes: Masked (Agapornis Personata) lovebirds, Fischers (Agapornis Fischeri) lovebirds, Black-cheeked (Agapornis Nigrigenis) and Nyassa (Agapornis Lilianae) lovebirds. The species in this group are considerably hard to distinguish between sexes. There are many known mutations of Peachface, Masked, Fischers, Blackcheeked and Nyasa lovebirds. Many of the newest mutations are combinations or dilutes of areadly existing mutations. Pin-Farms in Thailand has an excelent web site created by Yutthana Imanothai which features photos of many lovebird mutations.
Click the button below to go to Pin Farms website.
Diet: A good lovebird diet must include Sunflower, Safflower, mixed millets, canary grass seeds, greenfood, and fruit. Fresh water, cuttlebone and grit should also be supplied at all times. Lettuce, spinach, chickweed, spray millet, eggfood, brocolli tops, carrot tops, apples and non-poisionous berries can also be offered on a regular basis.
General Care: These birds can demand attention if they are hand tame pets. If they do not get attention they will revert back to a wild state like many ignored pet birds. They are curious and amusing birds so be careful to keep them out of harm's way. Lovebirds tend to trim thier own nails but they do require water changes frequently.
Compatibility: Lovebirds are best kept as single pets or in pairs. I do not advise putting two hens with one male or vice versa. I have seen a hen kill another because she wanted the other hen's mate. A pair can be very loving toward each other but an outsider is sure to cause trouble. Young birds or clutch mates will normally get along but once they become mature they need to be seperated. If you have only two hand tame lovebirds they will normally live together peacefull unless one forms a stronger bond with you then the other lovebird. This situation could cause one of the lovebirds to become territorial when you are around.
Housing: I do not advise colony breeding lovebirds due to agressive behaviors between unbonded birds. They do best cage breeding with one pair per cage. I would suggest a minimum cage space of 32 inches long x 20 inches high x 20 inches wide with a 1/2 inch bar spacing if you use wire cages. Do not house them in round cages. I breed my love birds in tier-style box cages. They seem to enjoy the privacy of solid wall box breeder cages but I have bred lovebirds in wire cages with success.
Song: The lovebird in my opinion has no actualy song but do make difference sounds, screeches, and noises. Differences can be noted in the mate call, warning or alarm call, and flock call. Click the button below to hear what a lovebird sounds like.
Breeding: With most lovebird species the hen can be seen tucking nesting material beneath her wings or in her beak. If you have newspaper on the bottom of the cage they will shred it almost as good as any paper shredder and use it as nesting material. You can also supply small willow, fruit and popular branches or bark for them to nest with. The nestbox size I suggest for lovebirds is 8x8x8 or 10x6x8 made out of strong plywood. After a pair has bonded and are in breeding condition they will mate. Eggs are laid 3-7 days after mating normally one every other day. The hen will lay on average 3-5 eggs which mostly she will incubate for 22-25 days. Most of the time not all of the eggs will hatch as humidity problems seem to dry them out. Humidity levels should be maintained at 65 percent or above with ideal breeding temps at 70-75 degrees. Lovebirds can and will breed all year if allowed so be sure to give them sufficient rest exspecially during hotter and colder months. I would only breed lovebirds which are 1-5 years of age. Baby lovebirds can be pulled out of the nest at 3 weeks old in order to hand feed them. I see no reason why they need to be pulled before 3 weeks unless the parents are not careing for them correctly. If not pulled from the nest young birds will fledge at five weeks old and become independantly weaned at 7-8 weeks of age.
Price List: Lovebirds can be sexed for an additional $20.00 added to purchase price.
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Mutation
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Price Each (Juvenile)
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$30.00 each
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$40.00 each
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Lutino Peachface
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$50.00 each
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$50.00 each
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Fischer's Lovebird
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$50.00 each
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$50.00 each
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Blue- Black Mask
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$60.00 each
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