Peach-faced Lovebird
Seagreen mutation
‘Amaretto’ courtesy of Emery from Tailfeathers
Latin name
Agapornis roseicollis
Subspecies:
A. r. catumbella
A. r. roseicollis
Common names
Peach-faced Lovebird
Rosy-faced Lovebird
Rosy-headed Lovebird
Rose-ringed Lovebird
Description
This is the only red-faced Lovebird species with a white bill. They have a white feathered eye-ring. There is no sexual dimorphism.
A. r. roseicollis Adults:
The forecrown to behind the eyes is red becoming rose-pink on the face and upper breast. The rump and upper tail-coverts are bright blue. The tail is green, the lateral feathers at the base being black, they are bordered orange-red and subterminally banded black. The bill is horn coloured, the iris dark brown and legs gray.
Juveniles:
The forecrown is a tawny green suffused rose-pink. The face to upper breast is pale rose-pink suffused grayish blue. The bill is horn coloured with black at the base.
A. r. catumbella Adults:
The forecrown is a deeper red and the cheeks are more reddish.
Mutations:
Peach-faced Lovebirds are prolific breeders and have been breed in captivity for a considerable time. Under these circumstances the opportunity to select for colour mutations exists and there are now a huge number of variations in colour. The list below is enormous, but not comprehensive!
BLUE SERIES
Whitefaced Violet
Whitefaced Violet Pied
Whitefaced Creamino
Whitefaced Seagreen Pied
Whitefaced Pied
Whiteface Dilute
Whiteface Blue
Whitefaced Slate
Whitefaced Slate Pied
Whiteface Cobalt Violet
Whiteface Blue Silver
Whiteface Medium American Cinnamon Violet
Medium Blue (ARTA Cobalt in US)
Slate (ARTA Dark blue, DD Aqua, Mauve)
Seagreen (ARTA AquaTurquoise)
Seagreen Silver
Seagreen Pied
Seagreen Creamino
Seagreen Violet
Seagreen Pied Violet
Seagreen Cobalt Violet
Dutchblue (ARTA Medium blue, Aqua, Blue)
Dutchblue pied Violet
Dark Dutchblue (ARTA Cobalt)
Dutchblue pied
Dutchblue Violet
Dark Dutchblue Violet (ARTA Cobalt Violet)
Medium Seagreen Violet
Violet Seagreen Opaline
Creamino
Lutino
Blue American Cinnamon Violet
Seagreen American Cinnamon
Whitefaced American Cinnamon
| GREEN SERIES
Australian Cinnamon (ARTA Pallid)
Orangefaced Australian Cinnamon
Blue Australian Cinnamon
Peachfaced ("Normal Green")
Jade Green (ARTA Medium Green)
Olive Green (ARTA Dark Green)
Australian Cinnamon Opaline
Australian Cinnamon Blue Opaline
Australian Cinnamon Violet Opaline
Lutino
Also:
Jade Violet
Green Violet
Green Violet Pied
Green Pied Opaline
Green Opaline
Orangefaced
Orangefaced Lutino
Orangefaced Green Dilute
Orangefaced Green Opaline
Orangefaced Pied
Orangefaced Violet
Orangefaced American Yellow
Whiteface Fallow
Seagreen Fallow
Violet Fallow
Lutino Violet
Lutino Opaline
Lutino Opaline Pied
Lutino Peachfaced
Dilute Peachfaced
American Yellow (ARTA "Cherryheads" ("Pastel Spangles" in Europe)
American Cinnamon
Green American Cinnamon
Green American Cinnamon Violet
American Cinnamon Violet
|
Size
Length 15cm (6in)
Weight 55g (2oz)
Wing length 10.5cm (4in)
Age at maturity
Lifespan
Distribution
Southwest Africa up to 1500m. There are feral populations in Simonstown, Republic of South Africa, and in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A.
They are found in the dry open or mountainous country, preferring the broad leaved woodland, lightly timbered grassland, semidesert scrubland, gallery woodland bordering water, and cultivation. They are never found far from water. When the water is always accessible they remain resident, but they will become nomadic in response to water availability. Locally they can be abundant and generally they are common.
Personality
They are noisy and gregarious birds. They have a shrill, loud call which some people are not happy to live with.
Housing
Feeding
Peach-faced Lovebirds in the wild gather seeds from the ground or from seedheads. If disturbed while feeding they will gather in nearby trees and return to resume feeding quite quickly. They will fly to drinking areas several times a day.
Breeding
This Lovebird species is the most widely bred in captivity being that it is both hardy and prolific.
They should be provided with a small nest box and a variety of leaves, twigs and dried grasses to furnish the nest. The female will tuck the nesting material into her feathers to carry it back to the nest.
The clutch size is usually about 4 to 5 eggs which are incubated for around 23 days. The chicks will fledge about 6 weeks of age and acquire their adult plumage at 4 months old.
Although they can be bred in a colony system, it is not recommended, because they can be very aggressive to other birds. Colony systems once established should not have other birds introduced—the colony must remain a family. They should only be set up by those with experience of breeding and in a large aviary. It is by far wiser to keep separate pairs. Kept this way they are a good species for the first time breeder.
Availability
Widely available in many different colour mutations, usually at a reasonable cost.
General notes
The Peach-faced Lovebird became established in European aviculture during the latter half of the 19th century. Oddly it was thought to be a variant of the Red-faced Lovebird to begin with and later other species were thought to be the Peach-faced.
In the wild they are usually found in small flocks of up to 20 individuals. At abundant sources of water or food the flocks will gather together in numbers of several hundred. They roost communally, usually in communal nests of Weavers and near water.
Living with this parrot
Video clips
Pictures
Image courtesy of Ajit S.
Image courtesy of Toumoto
References and further reading