Lovebird

Looks how to spot one

Feathered; compact small parrot, mostly green in the wild type

Lovebirds are among the smallest parrots: chunky little birds with a short, blunt tail and a surprisingly large, sharp beak. Wild-type birds are mainly green, and each species wears its own colours on the head and upper body. The rosy-faced lovebird has a pink to rose face and throat that deepens to red on the forehead, plus a bright blue rump. Fischer's, masked and black-cheeked lovebirds have an eye-catching ring of bare white skin around each eye. Males and females generally look alike. Wingspan reaches about 24 cm.1246

Personality what they are like

A lot of personality in a small body. Lovebirds are confident, inquisitive and active from morning to evening, and they bond very strongly. A single lovebird tends to attach itself to its owner and wants plenty of company, while a pair often turns its attention mostly to each other. They can learn tricks, and a few pick up simple sounds, but they are known more for their singing and whistling than for talking. They can be assertive with other birds, so introductions should be done with care.326

Daily activity how busy a day looks

High. Lovebirds like to be on the move and need daily time out of the cage in a safe room, plus plenty of toys to chew, shred and climb on. They are most vocal around dawn and dusk.3

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Low grooming effort: offer shallow water for bathing and plenty of chewable toys. Keep the cage clean, rotate toys to keep things interesting, and have nails and beak checked by an avian vet if they look long.3

Home where they are happiest

Give them the biggest cage your space and budget allow, as they are very active flyers and climbers. Fill it with perches of different thicknesses, swings and shreddable toys. In the wild they live in dry woodland, savanna and semi-desert near permanent water, so a warm, draught-free room suits them.345

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A good-quality formulated pellet as the base, topped up with bird-safe vegetables, fruit and a little seed. A seed-only diet is not recommended. Fresh drinking water every day. Wild lovebirds mainly eat grass and acacia seeds, buds, leaves and flower parts.345

Company who they like around

Very social flock birds that live in small groups of about 5-20 in the wild and form close, lifelong pairs. A pet can be kept singly if it gets a lot of daily attention from its people, or in a pair, which will keep each other company but may be less interested in humans.314

The story where it all began

Lovebirds belong to the Old World parrot family and form the genus Agapornis, named in 1836 by the English naturalist Prideaux John Selby from the Greek words for love and bird. The name reflects how closely paired birds stick together, sitting side by side and preening each other for long stretches. The rosy-faced lovebird had already been described by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1818, and it was recorded in captivity by 1869. Because it is small and breeds readily, it became one of the most widely kept parrots in the world, and breeders have developed more colour mutations in it than in any other lovebird. Masked and Fischer's lovebirds joined it as popular companion birds, and in aviculture there were around 30 known colour variations across the genus by 2019. Escaped pet rosy-faced lovebirds have even founded free-living colonies in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, and in Hawaii.16543

Recognised by the official bits

Taxonomy

The genus Agapornis was described by Prideaux John Selby in 1836 and today holds nine living species; five have no subspecies and four are split into subspecies.1

Taxonomy (rosy-faced lovebird)

Louis Pierre Vieillot described the rosy-faced lovebird in 1818 as Psittacus roseicollis; it was later moved into Agapornis. Two subspecies are recognised, A. r. roseicollis and A. r. catumbella.6

IUCN Red List

Most lovebird species are Least Concern; Fischer's and Lilian's lovebirds are Near Threatened and the black-cheeked lovebird is Vulnerable. The rosy-faced lovebird is Least Concern.1

Aviculture

Peach-faced, masked and Fischer's lovebirds are the species most commonly kept as companion birds.3