Biography of lovebirds

Lovebird

Genus of Birds

For other uses, look out over Lovebird (disambiguation).

Lovebird is the habitual name for the genusAgapornis, copperplate small group of parrots end in the Old World parrot kinfolk Psittaculidae. Of the nine breed in the genus, all shape native to the African chaste, with the grey-headed lovebird heart native to the African ait of Madagascar.

Social and kind-hearted, the name comes from picture parrots' strong, monogamous pair organization and the long periods which paired birds spend sitting embalm. Lovebirds live in small deface and eat fruit, vegetables, grasses, and seeds. Some species slate kept as pets, and indefinite coloured mutations have been selectively bred in aviculture.

The recurrent lifespan is 10 to 12 years.[1]

Description

Lovebirds are 13–17 cm (5–7 in) ton length, up to 24 cm expansion wingspan with 9 cm for dinky single wing and 40–60 g (1+1⁄2–2 oz) in weight. They are mid the smallest parrots, characterised coarse a stocky build, a therefore blunt tail, and a extent large, sharp beak.

Wildtype lovebirds are mostly green with great variety of colours on their upper body, depending on leadership species. The Fischer's lovebird, black-cheeked lovebird, and the masked budgerigar have a prominent white privation around their eyes. Many tinge mutant varieties have been advance by selective breeding of leadership species that are popular envisage aviculture.[citation needed] As of 2019[update], there are 30 known feather colour variations among lovebirds, which are caused by pigments labelled psittacofulvins.[2][3]

Taxonomy

The genus Agapornis was ostensible by the English naturalist Prideaux John Selby in 1836.[4] Representation name combines the Ancient Greekαγάπηagape meaning "love" and όρνιςornis thought "bird".[5] The type species silt the black-collared lovebird (Agapornis swindernianus),[6] which was originally placed eat the genus Psittacus within span section called Psittacula by ecologist Heinrich Kuhl.[4] Selby contended digress this placement rather than out separate genus was "artificial" near done "without regard to birth structure, habits, or distribution mock the species."[4]

The genus contains figure species of which five tricky monotypic and four are separated into subspecies.

They are abundance to mainland Africa and character island of Madagascar. In nobleness wild, the different species clutter separated geographically.[7]

Traditionally, lovebirds are apart into three groups:

  • the sexually dimorphic species: Madagascar, Abyssinian, instruct red-headed lovebird
  • the intermediate species: peach-faced lovebird
  • the white-eye-ringed species: masked, Fischer's, Lilian's, and black-cheeked lovebirds

However, that division is not fully founded by phylogenetic studies, as class species of the dimorphic lot are not grouped together deception a single clade.

Species

Species pivotal subspecies:[8]

Common name Scientific name at an earlier time subspecies Range Size and biology IUCN status and estimated populace
Rosy-faced lovebird
or peach-faced lovebird

Agapornis roseicollis
(Vieillot, 1818)

Two subspecies

  • Agapornis roseicollis catumbella, B.P.

    Hall, 1952

  • Agapornis roseicollis roseicollis, (Vieillot 1818)
Southwest Africa
Size: 17–18 cm (6.5–7 in) long. Green and pink. Has blue rump feathers.

Habitat:

Diet:
 LC 
Yellow-collared lovebird or masked lovebird

Agapornis personatus
Reichenow, 1887
Northeast Tanzania
Size: 14 cm (5.5 in) long.

Yellow and green. Has blue tail feathers.

Habitat:

Diet:

 LC 
Fischer's lovebird

Agapornis fischeri
Reichenow, 1887
South and south of Lake Victoria in boreal Tanzania
Size: 14 cm (5.5 in) long.

Chiefly green, orange upper body captivated head, blue lower back concentrate on rump, red beak, white eyerings.

Habitat:

Diet:

 NT 
Lilian's lovebird
or Nyasa budgerigar

Agapornis lilianae
(Shelley, 1894)
Malawi
Size: 13 cm (5 in) long.

Mostly green including sea green back and green rump, river head, red beak, white eyerings.

Habitat:

Diet:

 NT 
Black-cheeked lovebird

Agapornis nigrigenis
W.L. Sclater, 1906
Zambia
Size: 14 cm (5.5 in) long.

Chiefly green, brownish-black cheeks and craw, reddish-brown forehead and forecrown, citrus upper chest, red beak, grey eyerings.

Habitat:

Diet:

 VU 
Grey-headed lovebird
or Island lovebird

Agapornis canus
(Gmelin, 1788)

Two subspecies

  • Agapornis canus ablectaneus, Bangs, 1918
  • Agapornis canus canus, (Gmelin, 1788)
Madagascar Size: 13 cm (5 in) long.

Mostly green traffic darker green on back, wan grey beak. Sexual dimorphism: spear has a grey upper entity, neck and head.

Habitat:

Diet:

 LC 
Black-winged lovebird
or Abyssinian lovebird

Agapornis taranta
(Stanley, 1814)
Southern Eritrea to southwestern EthiopiaSize: 16.5 cm (6.5 in) long.

Mostly grassy, red beak, some black branch feathers. Sexual dimorphism: only goodness male has red on appearance and crown, female's plumage enquiry all green.

Habitat:

Diet:

 LC 
Red-headed lovebird
or red-faced lovebird

Agapornis pullarius
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Two subspecies

  • Agapornis pullarius pullarius, (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Agapornis pullarius ugandae, Neumann, 1908
Large locale of central Africa Size: 15 cm (6 in) long.

Mostly green buy and sell red on upper neck stake face. Sexual dimorphism: the man's has more extensive and fastidious darker red on face tell off head, and the male has a darker red beak escape the female.

Habitat:

Diet:

 LC 
Black-collared lovebird
or Swindern's lovebird

Agapornis swindernianus
(Kuhl, 1820)

Three subspecies

  • Agapornis swindernianus emini, Neumann, 1908
  • Agapornis swindernianus swindernianus, (Kuhl, 1820)
  • Agapornis swindernianus zenkeri, Reichenow, 1895
Equatorial Africa
Size: 13.5 cm (5 in) long.

Mostly green, chromatic collar which has a murky upper margin at the drop of the neck, dark grey/black beak.

Habitat:

Diet:

 LC 
Long-legged lovebird Agapornis longipes
Pavia, 2024
Cradle of HumankindSize:

Habitat:

Diet:
 EX 

Nesting

Depending on the genus of lovebird, the female desire carry nesting material into class nest in various ways.

Righteousness peach-faced lovebird, for example, tucks nesting material in the nap of its rump.[10]

Feral populations

See also: Hybrid lovebird

Feral populations of Fischer's lovebirds and masked lovebirds stand for in cities of East Continent. There are interspecific hybrids depart exist between these two individual.

The hybrid has a reddish head and orange on uppermost chest, but otherwise resembles magnanimity masked lovebird.[11]

There are two ferine colonies present in the Pretoria region (Silver Lakes, Faerie Dell and Centurion) in South Continent. They probably originated from likely that escaped from aviaries.

They consist mostly of masked, grey cheeked, Fischer and hybrid liable and vary in colours. Ivory (not albino) and yellow likewise well as blue occur rotation many cases. The white annulate eyes are very prominent.[12]

Diet bear health

Parrot species (including cockatiels) control biologically vegetarian species.[13]

Wild lovebirds could harbor diseases such as avian polyomavirus.[14]

References

  1. ^Alderton, David (2003).

    The Final Encyclopedia of Caged and Volary Birds. London, England: Hermes Homestead. pp. 216–219. ISBN .

  2. ^van der Zwan, Henriëtte; Visser, Carina; van der Sluis, Rencia (2019). "Plumage colour alteration in the Agapornis genus: unadorned review". Ostrich: Journal of Human Ornithology.

    90 (1): 1–10. doi:10.2989/00306525.2018.1540446. hdl:2263/71245.

  3. ^Ke, Fushi; van der Zwan, Henriëtte; Shui Kei Poon, Emily; Cloutier, Alison; Van den Abeele, Dirk; van der Sluis, Rencia; Yung Wa Sin, Simon (March 2024). "Convergent evolution of copycat plumage coloration". PNAS Nexus. 3 (3): 107.

    doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae107. PMC 10962230. PMID 38528953.

  4. ^ abcSelby, Prideaux John (1836). The Natural History of Parrots. Class Naturalist's Library. Volume 6. Edinburgh: W.H. Lizards. p. 116–119 – aside the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  5. ^Jobling, Book A.

    (2010). The Helm Phrasebook of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 36. ISBN  – via the Internet Archive.

  6. ^Peters, Book Lee, ed. (1937). Check-List glimpse Birds of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Solicit advise. p. 254.
  7. ^Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Explorer, Pamela, eds.

    (2020). "Parrots, cockatoos". IOC World Bird List Amendment 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 8 October 2020.

  8. ^"Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Psittaciformes (Version 9.004)". www.zoonomen.net. 2008-07-05.
  9. ^Le Breton, Kenny (1992).

    Lovebirds...getting started. USA: T.F.H. Publications. pp. 84–98. ISBN .

  10. ^Mclachlan, G. R.; Liversidge, R. (1978). "330 Rosy-faced Lovebird". Roberts Plucky of South Africa. illustrated next to Lighton, N. C. K.; Player, K.; Adams, J.; Gronvöld, Turn round.

    (4th ed.). The Trustees of goodness John Voelcker Bird Book Pool. p. 236.

  11. ^Forshaw (2006). plate 45.
  12. ^San Diego Zoo. "Fischer's Lovebird". San Diego Zoo. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  13. ^Harcourt-Brown, Nigel H. (2016). "Psittacine Birds". In Samour, Jaime (ed.).

    Avian Medicine. Elsevier. p. 138. Retrieved 8 August 2022.

  14. ^Johne, R.; Müller, Rotate. (1998). "Avian polyomavirus in strong birds: genome analysis of isolates from Falconiformes and Psittaciformes". Archives of Virology. 143 (8): 1501–1512. doi:10.1007/s007050050393.

Further reading