In this article, we’ll take a look at nine different species of lovebirds. Distinguished based on the color of their feathers.
Lovebirds are birds of the genus Agapornis. These birds are famous for their bright colors, affectionate nature, and their strong monogamous pair bondings. There are nine species, eight of these species are native to African mainland and one is native to Madagascar.
The most common to be kept as pets are the:
Fischer's lovebird
Black-masked lovebird
Peach-faced lovebird
These lovebird species are rare in captivity, other than in show-aviaries.
Abyssinian (or black-winged lovebird) (Agapornis Taranta).
Black-cheeked lovebird (Agapornis nigrigenis)
Madagascar or grey-headed lovebird (Agapornis Cana)
Nyasa and Lillian’s lovebird (Agapornis lilianae).
Red-faced and red-headed lovebirds (Agapornis Pullaria)
Swindern’s black-collared lovebird (Agapornis Swaindernia).
A word about hybrid lovebirds
A hybrid is created whenever two different species successfully breed. That offspring will not belong to any species and is therefore a hybrid.
Because they’re members of the same genus, many of the lovebird species can interbreed. Sometimes the offspring is fertile, like if two eye-ring lovebirds mate, but sometimes they’re not, like in the case of an eye-ring to non-eye-ring union.
Some of the Agapornis species’ habitats naturally overlap a little, which means that hybridization may sometimes occur in nature. It has been suggested that this will happen more and more as lovebirds’ natural habitats are affected by human activity. They can be inadvertently brought closer together, with the risk of muddying the gene pools.
If you have any more questions about the nine different types of lovebirds or if you want to share your own experiences with the fascinating genus Agapornis, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
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