The Lovebirds

The lovebirds 

The Lovebirds

The lovebirds (Agapornis) are a genus of small African parrots that belong to the real parrots (Psittacidae) and to the subfamily of the noble parrots (Psittaculinae). Their name comes from their very strong pair bond, which usually lasts a lifetime. Their extreme couple behavior (cuddling, grooming, etc.) has also earned them the name "love birds" (particularly common in English-speaking countries, "Lovebirds", as well as in the scientific name Agapornis, from Greek: agape = love and ornis = bird).

Type of lovebird

1. Grey-headed Lovebird
2. Black-winged Lovebird
3. Red-headed Lovebird
4. Peach-faced Lovebird
5. Black-cheeked Lovebird
6. Fischer's Lovebird
7. Lilian's Lovebird
8. Yellow-collared Lovebird
9. Black-collared Lovebird

Fischer lovebird

The peach head (Agapornis fischeri), also Fischer's lovebird, is a kind from the lovebird genus and is called Fishers Lovebird in English. His name goes back to the German Africa researcher Gustav Fischer. [1] Together with the other species of this genus as well as the gray parrot, the long-winged parrot, the collar parrot and the vasa parrot endemic to Madagascar, this species is one of the typical parrot species of the Afrotropis.

Appearance

Peach heads reach a body length of up to 14 centimeters. Males weigh 49 grams. The females become somewhat heavier with an average of 53 grams. The species has no clear external features that would allow a gender determination. The basic color of the body plumage is green. Forehead, cheeks and throat, on the other hand, are colored orange-red. The front chest and the beginning of the neck are yellow. The outer tail feathers have blue tips. The rump and the upper tail quilts are also colored blue (lovebird blue). The beak is bright red. The eyes are surrounded by a white eye ring. The flight is very fast. It is accompanied by loud calls which the parrots make in quick succession.

Distribution area

Peach heads populate a relatively small region in Tanzania. They live in the south and southeast of Lake Victoria as well as on the islands in Lake Victoria. The distribution area of ​​the black heads begins 50 kilometers further north. Natural vegetation periods prevent hybridization of the two species [2]. Peach heads were also naturalized in the regions around Dar es Salaam and Tanga as well as near Mombasa, Nairobi, Naivasha and Isiola. [3]

The habitat of the peach heads are the inland plateaus of this region. These savanna areas at an altitude between 1100 and 1700 meters above sea level are characterized by long dry periods. The start of the peach head's hatching depends on the rainfall.

Way of life

Peach heads eat seeds, fruits, buds, berries, fresh shoots and green plants. Most of the food is consumed on the ground. During the ripening period of maize and grain fields, they often also cover a large part of their food requirements on agricultural areas.

Peach heads are among the parrot species in which courtship behavior can be seen. The male and the female are tripping excitedly on the floor. The male flies several times, flies around the female in a semicircle and lands near the female. Clicking courtship sounds can be heard from the male. Hasty head scratching is also part of the courtship act.

The female signals the willingness to mate by spreading the wings and pointing up slightly. The head is on the back of the neck. The nest is conical and consists of branches, bark and other parts of the plant, which the female enters with her beak. This distinguishes this species, for example, from the rose heads and mountain parrots, which clamp the nesting material they enter in the plumage. [4]

The clutch usually consists of four to six eggs. The eggs are hatched exclusively by the female. The breeding season is between 21 and 23 days. The young birds are initially flesh-colored and covered with orange dunes. They open their eyes for the first time after 10 to 12 days. They stay in the nest for about 38 days. For another 14 days, they are dependent on feeding by the parent birds.

Peach head and man

The first imports to Europe were in 1926  The first breeding was in 1930 in Australia . Since then, peach heads have often been kept as ornamental birds. Peach heads were exported in very large numbers from their area of ​​origin. Between 1982 and 1990, the average number of exported animals was 56,481 animals. However, the numbers of peach heads in their distribution area are only estimated at a population between 300,000 and just over a million. Between 1982 and 1992, a total of between 644,500 and 711,000 peach heads were imported into countries with a CITES membership. This number does not include illegal exports or exports to countries where there is no CITES control.

It can therefore be assumed that these mass exports had a lasting negative impact on the inventory figures. These exports took place, although the species is somewhat easy to breed in human care. The parrot expert Werner Lantermann suspects that the reason for these high export figures is that European breeders concentrated on the cultivation of color mutations, for which attractive prices could also be obtained at times. However, since these color mutations were weak in life and remained short, there was also a high demand for wild animals

Lovebird color

Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Birds" made lovebirds famous. The English call them "love birds" because these little parrots are renowned for their marital fidelity and their tenderness.

This nickname given above all to Fischer's lovebird also comes from their scientific name Agapornis which means "love bird" in Greek.

Among the nine species of lovebird, the king's lovebird is the only one to inhabit Madagascar. All the other lovebirds live on the African continent.

 

1. Portrait of lovebirds

These birds bear their name admirably, because the couple never disunits. Lovebirds seem to have a deep and unalterable love.
These parrots perfectly symbolize the model couple. Two lovers huddled together, lost in their tender reverie, such is the portrait of the Lovebird.

2. Nostalgic look for this lovebird. 

The spouses are very similar and are in total symbiosis. One eats, the other does the same. One bathes, the other too. The male calls out, the female responds to him immediately.

If one spouse becomes ill, the other takes care of and feeds him.
If despite his care, the partner dies, his half never survives him very long.

But, like all couples, lovebirds sometimes bicker to be reconciled immediately.
It is impossible to differentiate the sex of these birds at a glance because there is no sexual dimorphism in lovebirds.

3. Fisher's Lovebirds

Fisher's Lovebirds (Agapornis fischeri).
Lovebirds do not build their nest but borrow it from other birds or nest in tree cavities.
They then arrange them as they please by planting twigs between their feathers to transport them to the nest.
Depending on the species, lovebirds can provide up to three spawns over a four-month period.

4. Lovebird couple

Lovebirds in black mask with blue variant.
These birds get used to captivity. Taken very young, they tame easily and quickly become familiar.
There are only three species on the market: the Fischer's Lovebird, the pink-faced lovebird and the black-masked lovebird.
The size of lovebirds varies according to the species from 12 to 17 cm approximately. Their longevity is from 12 to 20 years.
Lovebird are part of the Psittaciformes order.

5. Pink-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis)

Among the nine species of lovebirds, the most beautiful is undoubtedly the pink-faced lovebird.
This species lives in South West Africa and in the north of the Cape Province in South Africa.
His almost entirely green body is tinged with a delicate pink on the cheeks and a bright red on the forehead.

Long turquoise feathers adorn its tail.
This species lives in bands and can cause considerable damage to cereal plantations. Indeed, colonies of 200 birds can thus land on cultivated land.
This parrot feeds mainly on fruits and seeds of trees, wild herbs and cultivated plants such as wheat.
Pink-faced Lovebird

The pink-faced lovebird squats abandoned nests. The couple then arranges it as they please by planting twigs or small pieces of wood between the feathers of their rump to transport them to the nest.
They also nest in collective nests with multiple rooms.
The female lays 4 to 6 eggs. The incubation lasts about 23 days and the rearing of the young about 6 weeks.
If this little parrot is tender to its partner, it is not with other species. In captivity, he makes the law in the aviary.

6. Gray-headed Lovebird (Agapornis canus)

Synonym: Agapornis cana, It is the only species to live in Madagascar. This bird has also been introduced to Mauritius, the Comoros, the Seychelles and Zanzibar.

Like the other lovebirds, the species lives in voluble colonies which move morning and evening towards the river to drink and bathe.

Due to intensive deforestation, they are forced to feed on cultivated fields and are therefore accused of causing damage.

7.  Agapornis canus

This species nests in tree cavities.
During the 22-day incubation, the male feeds his partner. 4 to 11 eggs are laid and the chicks leave the nest after 5 weeks.
This species reproduces very difficultly in captivity.

8. Red-headed Lovebird (Agapornis pullarius)

Synonym: Agapornis pullaria
This species is distinguished by its nesting mode. Indeed, the red-headed lovebird builds its nest on a termite hill.
The female chooses the hard material of termite habitat living on trees. She digs a cavity in it, which she then lines with debris of dead leaves,

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