Lovebirds
Peach-faced Lovebird (Dutch blue)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae Genus: Agapornis
Species
Nine - see text

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 inséparables"- "inseparables". 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 many 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.

Species

Eight of the different species come from the mainland of Africa. The ninth species, the agapornis canus, originates from Madagascar. In the wild the different species are separated geographically. Lovebirds live in small flocks and eat mainly fruit, vegetables, some grasses and seed. Black-winged lovebirds also enjoy figs.

Only some of the lovebird species are sexually dimorphic. This includes the black-winged lovebird, the grey headed lovebird, and the black collared lovebird.

There are a total of 9 different species:

• Grey-headed Lovebird, Agapornis canus
• Red-faced Lovebird, Agapornis pullarius
• Black-winged Lovebird, Agapornis taranta
• Black-collared Lovebird, Agapornis swinderniana
• Peach-faced Lovebird , Agapornis roseicollis
• Fischer's Lovebird, Agapornis fischeri
• Yellow-collared Lovebird, Agapornis personatus
• Lilian's Lovebird, Agapornis lilianae
• Black-cheeked Lovebird, Agapornis nigrigeni

Lovebirds in Aviculture

Unlike many of the larger parrots, which had already been kept as pets even by Alexander the Great, lovebirds were first brought to Europe during the 18th century. Pet lovebirds are now bred in captivity.

Today, lovebirds are very popular in aviculture, and one of the most commonly kept groups of parrots, because of their small size, low cost and ease of care, and ease of breeding.

The most common species of lovebird kept in captivity are the Peach-faced, Masked, and Fischer's lovebirds, approximately in that order, with the Peach-faced and Masked lovebirds having several color mutations.

The only other species of lovebird regularly kept in captivity is the Abbysinian lovebird. All other species of lovebird are rarely, if ever, maintained in aviculture.