Lovebird is the common name for the genus Agapornis, a small group of in the Old World parrot family Psittaculidae. Of the nine species in the genus, all are native to the African continent, with the grey-headed lovebird being native to the African island of Madagascar. Social and affectionate, the name comes from the parrots' strong, monogamous pair bonding and the long periods which paired birds spend sitting together. Lovebirds live in small flocks and eat fruit, vegetables, grasses, and seeds. Some species are kept as pets, and several coloured mutations have been selectively bred in aviculture. The average lifespan is 10 to 12 years.David Alderton (2025). 184309164X, Hermes House. 184309164X
Description
Lovebirds are in length, up to 24 cm in wingspan with 9 cm for a single wing and in weight. They are among the smallest parrots, characterised by a stocky build, a short blunt tail, and a relatively large, sharp beak. Wildtype lovebirds are mostly green with a variety of colours on their upper body, depending on the species. The Fischer's lovebird, black-cheeked lovebird, and the masked lovebird have a prominent white ring around their eyes. Many colour mutant varieties have been produced by selective breeding of the species that are popular in
aviculture. , there are 30 known
plumage colour variations among lovebirds, which are caused by pigments called
.
Taxonomy
The genus
Agapornis was described by the English naturalist Prideaux John Selby in 1836.
The name combines the
Ancient Greek αγάπη
agape meaning "love" and όρνις
ornis meaning "bird".
The
type species is the black-collared lovebird (
Agapornis swindernianus),
which was originally placed into the genus
Psittacus within a section called
Psittacula by naturalist
Heinrich Kuhl.
Selby contended that this placement rather than a separate genus was "artificial" and done "without regard to the structure, habits, or distribution of the species."
The genus contains nine species of which five are monotypic and four are divided into subspecies. They are native to mainland Africa and the island of Madagascar. In the wild, the different species are separated geographically.
Traditionally, lovebirds are divided into three groups:
-
the sexually dimorphic species: Madagascar, Abyssinian, and red-headed lovebird
-
the intermediate species: peach-faced lovebird
-
the white-eye-ringed species: masked, Fischer's, Lilian's, and black-cheeked lovebirds
However, this division is not fully supported by phylogenetic studies, as the species of the dimorphic group are not grouped together in a single
clade.
Species
Species and subspecies:
Nesting
Depending on the species of lovebird, the female will carry nesting material into the nest in various ways. The peach-faced lovebird, for example, tucks nesting material in the feathers of its rump.
Feral populations
Feral populations of Fischer's lovebirds and masked lovebirds live in cities of East Africa. There are interspecific hybrids that exist between these two species. The hybrid has a reddish-brown head and orange on upper chest, but otherwise resembles the masked lovebird.
[Forshaw (2006). plate 45.]
There are two feral colonies present in the Pretoria region (Silver Lakes, Faerie Glen and Centurion) in South Africa. They probably originated from birds that escaped from aviaries. They consist mostly of masked, black cheeked, Fischer and hybrid birds and vary in colours. White (not albino) and yellow as well as blue occur in many cases. The white ringed eyes are very prominent.
Diet and health
Parrot species (including
) are biologically vegetarian species.
Wild lovebirds may harbor diseases such as avian polyomavirus.
Further reading
-
All About Breeding Lovebirds (hardcover) by Mervin Roberts
-
Lovebirds: Everything About Housing, Care, Nutrition, Breeding, and Diseases with a special chapter, "Understanding Lovebirds" (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual) by Matthew M. Vriends
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Lovebirds compendium by Dirk Van den Abeele
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