Nesting Facilities in the Genus Agapornis

Abstract

Tiie success of breeding parrots in captivity depends on a great number of factors including diet, aviary space and nesting facilities. Often the least amount of planning goes for the proper nest box, which is a requirement for all but the monk parrot. The mere sight of a newly introduced nest box often sets into motion courtship and mating behavior. Once a box has been selected this facility serves as the sacred quarter where all the intricate biological processes of egg laying, incubating and the rearing of young take place. Many failures of rearing the young are directly attributable to a poorly designed, poorly arranged or otherwise unacceptable nest box. In this article I will address myself to many of the questions relating to nest boxes for lovebirds (genus Agapornis ).

Natural History: All serious breeders are interested in how their aviary subjects behave and survive in their natural environment. Unfortunately, written accounts of lovebirds living in the wild are quite incomplete, and for two of the nine species we have no recorded sightings of nests, eggs or young. A summary of what is known follows.

Hollow tree trunks are the favorite nesting site for Abyssinian ( A. taranta) & Madagascar (A. cana) lovebirds. Though they line their nest with small pieces of leaves and sometimes bark, this lining is very thin and never produces a domed nest seen in some of the other species. Fischers' (A. fischeri]; Masked (A. personata) and Nyasa (A. liliana) also use predominately hollow trees, however, their nests are intricately filled with an abundance of nesting materials. In addition, these latter three species have also been observed nesting in and around buildings of towns and villages. The Nyasa lovebird is also known to occasionally utilize communal nests of weavers. Though nothing is known about the nesting sites of Blackcheeked (A. nigrigenis)

we can assume that their breeding behavior is similar to those of the Nyasa lovebirds.

Peachface lovebirds seem to be most versatile and most adaptable to a variety of environmental conditions (perhaps this is also the reason why they are such adaptable and prolific breeders in captivity). Thus they may be seen nesting in rock cavities, eaves or cracks of buildings and hollow logs. Yet most frequently they have been observed nesting in large communal nests of weaver finches. Here several pair may occupy separate spaces within the same large weaver nest measuring two, three or more feet in diameter.

A most unusual nesting site is selected by the Redfaced lovebird ( A. pullaria), which seeks out arboreal termite mounds. In it, it burrows tunnels leading to an enlarged cavity. A thin layer of leaves finally finishes the spartan looking maternity room. Ornithologists believe that the nests of Black-collared lovebirds ( A. swinderniana) are also found in arboreal termite mounds but no one has ever proven it. Of all the nine species of lovebirds swinderniana leads the most secretive existence in the dense tropical rainforest of central Africa. It is the only species which to our knowledge has never been successfully kept by any aviculturist.

From my brief description of lovebird nesting facilities in the wild it is clear that most can be provided with similar nest boxes. Only pullaria and swinderniana need special consideration and since these arrangements are so very unique I will omit further reference to these two species. A description of their nesting behavior would deserve a separate article.

Nestbox Construction: I prefer a standard size nestbox for all but the Madagascar lovebird. The boards used for construction measure 8 inches wide for the sides and 7 inches for front and back. This gives an interior measurement of roughly 6~ by 616 inches (you should remember that an 8 inch board has an actual measurement of only 7~ inch, while a 7 inch board is only 6~ inches wide). I limit the height of the box to 10 inches (see Figure 1 ). Using a larger box is wasteful and often undesirable. Humidity and temperature levels are maintained better in smaller spaces, provided the box is made of the proper materials.

The entrance hole of the boxes need not be larger than 2 inches. A smaller diameter of 1 '% inches can be used for all the white eye ring species. For the Madagascar lovebird a 11,6 inch diameter hole suffices.

Upright nest boxes for lovebirds are in my experiences better than horizontal boxes. This is particularly true for the white eye ringed species which stuff their boxes so full with material that the lid of the horizontal box is forced open more readily than that of the vertical box.

A simple box type is easiest to construct and to maintain, however, some alterations are beneficial in aviaries where more than one pair is breeding. For example, to preserve privacy and to restrict quarreling the entrance can be protected by extending the side walls (Fig. 2). This gives each pair their own little private balcony. Incidentally, a running board in front of the entrance hole is very much preferred over a simple perch. Furthermore, it is best not to let the roof protrude. Young which have just left the nest can more easily make it back to their boxes if chased by other birds by gliding down from the roof or over nest box onto the running board and into the hole. I have observed this behavior many times.

 

 

 

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