Abstract
The African Lovebird is unusual in that some species are relatively new to the world of aviculture, but others are very old. Some birds were not discovered until this century, yet others have been kept for over four hundred years.
The generic name of the African Lovebird is AGAPORNJS. It acquired the name lovebird because of its fondness of sitting in twos preening each others feathers.
A few basic facts about them are: 1 . they are small in size.
2. they are all from Africa and its adjacent island.
3. they are members of the parrot family.
This stout little parrot with its short rounded tail is broken up into nine totally different species. Some of these have become nearly as common as budgies - others as rare and unknown as the most elusive bird in the wild.
Two major differences occur in the nine species, and that is dimorphism. A bird is dimorphic if the male is visibly different from the female. In lovebirds three of the nine species are dimorphic. It is under this basic difference that I will categorize each of the nine species.
DIMORPHICS:
1. AGAPORNIS CANA, the grey-headed lovebird, or the Madagascar lovebird: the Madagascar male has grey on the head, back of neck and breast, its body color is green, darker on the back and wings, underwing coverts black, bill whitishgrey, feet pale grey. Hen: differs from male in being all green.
As could be expected the Madagascar is from the island of Madagascar. It is also found in smaller number on some of the neighboring islands, and there have been isolated sightings on the mainland of South Africa. These birds have been freely imported for well over a hundred years. Today because of exportation regulations out of Madagascar, they have become very rare. A reason for this is that they are not prolific breeders. They are usually bred in pairs, which adds to a space difficulty. In the wild they are found in very large flocks, but captive breeding has not been generally successful if colony style is attempted.
2. AGAPORNIS PULLAR/A, the redfaced lovebird: The red-faced male is bright green, more yellowish on the front and beneath. The face and crown are orange-red. Flights are green with the bend of the wing, shoulder and underwing coverts black. The bill is red, feet grey. The female red-faced has the red of the face area less bright and more orange, underwing covert green.
The red-faced has perhaps the longest expanse of territory of any of the lovebirds. It stretches from the coastal regions of Central Africa all the way to Western Ethiopia. The red-faced is considered to be the first lovebird imported into Europe. The Duke of Bedford mentions the fact that it was used in portraits as early as the 16th century.
Considering this long period in captivity one would assume the bird to be well established and certainly well understood. However, the converse is true. There are few in captivity and they have been bred, to my knowledge, on only three occasions during this century. In the wild they nest in termite sites. In captivity they have been bred using totally different methods .. One fact that seems to be accepted is that they must be bred in single pairs.
, 3. AGAPORNIS TARANTA, the blackwinged lovebird, or the Abyssinian lovebird! The male is viridian green, forehead, lores and small ring of feathers around the eye carmine red, underwing coverts black. The bill is deep red, feet greyishblack. Female has no red on the head or eye area, underwing coverts green but variable to black with some green.
The Abyssinian is a high altitude dweller from Ethiopia. It was little known to aviculture until this century. It was first imported into the trade in the early l 900's. It is definitely a single pair breeder.