Peach Faced Lovebird

NAME:
Eng. Peach Faced Lovebird, Peach fronted Love Bird
Lat. Agapornis Roseicollis

On the photo you can see a group of peach face lovebirds. The photo is taken from the local pet shop.

ORIGIN: Namibia, north from the Orange River and west from the Cape Province; the surrounding areas of lake Ngami, Botswana.

PHYSICAL APPEARENCE: They are 15 cm (6 in) in size and belong to the class of small-medium-sized parrots. Their basic color is green. The forehead, the whole body and the lower part of the breast is red while the most intensive color is on the forehead. Lores, the nape, the back of the head, back and the outer part of the wings are green while the breasts, abdomen and the inner part of the wings are yellowish-green. The tail from the upper side is green and from the lower side is bluish. The rump is blue. The bill is yellow. The iris is dark brown and the feet are grey. Their sex is not clearly distinguishable. Females are a bit larger than males and they have wider feet. The tail is blunt, whereas in the male it ends in a peak. The most reliable way of distinguishing the sex is the distance between the pelvis bones, which is 1-3 mm (.04-.1 in) in males and 6-8 mm (.24-.30 in) in females. Check also our Peach faced lovebird picture gallery.

Male and female pair of peach faced lovebirds.

KEEPING: Taming pof peach faced lovebirds is very easy, especially in young birds. They can be kept separately or in pairs. They tend to be aggressive towards the other parrots, so it is recommended to keep the birds of this family together. It is possible that these birds do not get along well with each other and thus sympathy plays an important role with these birds. They are very active and are usually restless in their cages. They belong to a class of medium-vocal parrots. The cage for their keeping should be average in size. In the cage, one can put willow twigs which they enjoy nibbling on. In nature, they settle around the lakes and rivers so it is necessary to provide them with a bowl of water so they can enjoy bathing. During the warm summer days, it is also important to offer them fresh water a couple of times a day so they can frolick. Check also our peach faced lovebird videos.

Taming of peach face lovebirds is very easy. They are ideal pets.

DIET: As with most middle-sized parrots, seeds of speckled sunflower make up the basic element in the mixture of food. In the mixture, there also have to be millet seeds, canary seeds, shelled oats, hemp, sorghum, flax and saffron seeds. Apples, carrots, blade and chickory are their favourite foods which should be offered to them at least every other day.
Minerals and cuttle-bone should always be available.

BREEDING PEACH FACED LOVEBIRDS: Breeding is not difficult as the pairs feed their younglings without any problem. It is recommended to keep a few birds together so that a pair can form among themselves. The birds from this family can be kept together in a cage. It is very common to get their hybrids which are not fertile. Young birds cannot stand low temperatures below 10C (50F). To enable the adult birds to hibernate successfully, it is necessary to provide them with a shelter where they can hide from the cold. Cold affects their nails, which very often fall off.

Breeding peach faced lovebirds in aviary or home is not difficult. To see baby lovebirds, their eggs, and nest shape plese see breeding of Fischer lovebirds which is pretty similar.

If one keeps the birds in groups, it is recommended to keep 2-3 pairs on 3 m (118 in). In nature, breeding begins in April. It is necessary to provide them enough willow branches that serve both as building material for the nest and increase the humidity in the nest which is necessary for hatching. A nest of 20 cm (8 in) in height and 18 cm (7 in) in width is appropriate for their breeding. A female clutches 3-6 eggs, and incubation lasts 20 days. After 32 days the younglings leave the nest and stay with their parents for 14 days. After this, they become independent. A lack of minerals in the diet could lead to the plucking of feathers of the younglings or even to cannibalism by the parents and or other memebers of the flock. If the birds are placed in a room with a minimal temperature of 18C (64F), breeding can last the whole year. It is recommended to have at most three broods to keep the bird from exhaustion.

INTERESTING FACTS: Peach facedlovebird lifespan can be up to 15 years. Around 200 various colors and mutations have been discovered.
In nature, they are only green in color.
When they are free, they live in great flocks near the coastal parts of rivers.