WattaBird! Introduction to LoveBirds


Lovebirds

Lovebirds belong to the genus "Agapornis" (Greek: "agape" which means "love" and "ornis" which means "bird"). Lovebirds are social and affectionate small parrots.

There are nine (9) known species of Lovebirds.
  1. Masked Lovebirds (Agapornis Personata)
  2. Fischer Lovebirds (Agapornis Fischeri)
  3. Nyasa Lovebirds (Agapornis Lilianae)
  4. Black Checked Lovebirds (Agapornis Nigrigenis)
  5. Peach-Faced Lovebirds (Agapornis Rosecoillis)
  6. Abyssinian Lovebirds (Agapornis Taranta)
  7. Red-Faced Lovebirds (Agapornis Pullarius)
  8. Madagascar Lovebirds (Agapornis Canus)  
  9. Swindern Loverbids (Agapornis  Swendernianus)

Masked Lovebirds (Agapornis Personata)

This Lovebird form are mostly green, black head, yellow upper chest with yellow color. The habitat of origin is from the Northern Tanzania to the South Lake of Victoria.

Fischer Lovebirds (Agapornis Fischeri)

Nyasa Lovebirds (Agapornis Lilianae)

Black Checked Lovebirds (Agapornis Nigrigenis)

Peach-Faced Lovebirds (Agapornis Rosecoillis)

Abyssinian Lovebirds (Agapornis Taranta)

Red-Faced Lovebirds (Agapornis Pullarius)

Madagascar Lovebirds (Agapornis Canus)

Swindern Lovebirds (Agapornis Swendernianus)



The main objective of wattabird.com is to promote African Loverbirds Breeding as a hobby, share breeding experiences, tips, techniques, best practices, and most importantly, to promote camaraderie among LoveBird Breeders.
WattaBird.com


Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 23, 2020 at 2:47 PM

    Hi,
    Dear Sir / Madam,

    Could you plz guide me to understand the lovebirds genetics & pairing lists in an easy way.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

WattaBird! Popular Posts in Last 30 Days

WattaBird! Opaline Euwing mutation in Fischer African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! Opaline Euwing mutation in Fischer African LoveBirds I first came across the Opaline Euwing mutation in the Fischer LoveBirds from an article posted by Dominique Veeckmans in 2016 . He was the president of BVA (Belgium Lovebird Association).  He shared that he was able to breed Opaline Euwing Fischer LoveBirds using a breeding pair of Opaline Green Fischer mated to a Euwing Green Fischer . Let us try to understand the source of his breeding material. The Opaline Fischer LoveBird is a mutation which is characterized by the facial mask extending fully to cover from the head up to the shoulders (full hood) of a Fischer LoveBird. The Euwing Fischer Lovebird is mutation that is characterized by its pretty looking gradation pattern on its wings and patterned tails. When these two mutations are paired together ( Opaline x Euwing ), the result becomes very interesting, because both factors affect the pigmentation (color) and gradation pattern on the feathers. Here is an excerpt fr
Read more

WattaBird! OPALINE Mutation in African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! OPALINE Mutation in African LoveBirds The  Opaline African LoveBird  is a mutation which is characterized by the facial mask extending fully to cover from head up to the shoulders (full hood) of an African LoverBird. The rump color will be the same as the body and the tips of the tail will be the same color as the hood. The Opaline gene is Sex-Linked . This means that Sex-Linked  inheritance in African LoveBirds are traits that are carried in the genetic chromosomes that also determines the sex of the offspring.  Since the Opaline trait is sex-linked, daughters will N EVER be Split-Opaline . Daughters can only be either Visual Opaline or Normal. Sons on the other hand can be, Visual Opaline or Split-Opaline . “If You have any questions, suggestions, or topics to discuss, please leave a comment below.” To learn more about the Opaline Breeding chart, please visit the  WattaBird Breeding Chart: Opaline in African LoveBirds WattaBird Gallery: Opaline Mutations on ALB2 (Eye Ri
Read more

WattaBird Breeding Chart: INO Mutation in African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird Breeding Chart: INO Mutation in African LoveBirds    Agapornis Roseicollis This Breeding Chart aims to help provide an idea regarding the breeding combinations for the Ino mutation in African LoveBirds. This Ino Breeding Chart applies to both Albino and Lutino African LoveBird s, and therefore, I will be using the term “Ino” within this article. Albino is the term used to refer to White Ino LoveBirds . Lutino is the term used to refer to Yellow Ino LoveBirds . This Ino Breeding Chart will also provide a bloodline composition of the offspring, which will be useful for matching breeding pairs for a targeted result. The Ino gene is a Sex-Linked trait. This genetic trait is hereditary and can be passed on to the offspring. The Ino inheritance will depend on the INO genes the parents carry. Since the Ino trait is sex-linked , daughters will NEVER be Split-Ino . Daughters can only be either Visual Ino or Normal . Sons on the other hand can be, Visual Ino or Split-Ino . “If
Read more

WattaBird! Avoid Breeding this Pairing in African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! Avoid Breeding this Pair in African LoveBirds I have noticed an African LoveBirds mutation that is characterized by gradation in its feathers on the wings that looks similar to a Euwing mutation and yet looks different from the photos of Euwings I usually see on posts. The plumage looks like strands and different. I became interested to learn and understand this mutation, so I did my research.  “If You have any questions ,  suggestions, or topics to discuss, please leave a comment below.” My research led me to this article from  LoveBird Breeding Tips and Mutation Guide . This article explained the reason behind the unexpected result of breeding back to back Euwing African LoveBirds.  The back story is based on a breeding pair intended to produce Green Euwing Opaline LoveBird s. The breeding pair used was a Green Euwing Split-Opaline Cock paired to a Green Euwing Hen. This breeding pair is projected to produce Green Euwing Split-Opaline Sons, Green Euwing Opaline Daug
Read more

WattaBird! Breeding Bulls African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! Breeding Bulls African LoveBirds The objective of this breeding project is simply to breed the Bulls LoveBirds . The Bulls LoveBirds belong the the Fischer LoveBird group. For this breeding project: The Cock is a Bulls Yellow LoveBird . This bird is yellow with an orange hood and black eyes. The Hen is a Bulls White LoveBird . This bird has white feathers and black eyes. OffSprings:  Yellow Bulls  (This will be the result of this breeding pair) White Bulls  (IF the cock has Split-Blue, then White Bulls will come out of this breeding pair) Please see pictures (Lutino and Albino) at:  http://wattabird.blogspot.com/2010/06/wattabird-gallery-002.html Breeding Bulls LoveBird Gallery This is my Bulls Breeder.  At the top is the Cock which is a Bulls Yellow LoveBird. At the bottom is the Hen which is a Bulls White LoveBird. This is the Hen. It is a Bulls White LoveBird. This is the Cock. It is a Bulls Yellow LoveBird. "The main objective of wattabird.com is
Read more

WattaBird! Breeding Chart: Opaline African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! Breeding Chart: Opaline African LoveBirds This Breeding Chart aims to help provide a visual idea on the breeding combinations for Opaline LoveBirds . This will also provide a bloodline composition of the offspring that will be useful in matching breeding pairs for a targeted result. Opaline genetics is Sex-Linked . Sex-Linked  inheritance in African LoveBirds are traits that are carried in the genetic chromosomes that also determines the sex of the offspring.  Female offspring are visual and cannot be split (Normal).  Male offspring on the other hand can be both visual and split-Opaline . Photos used below are for representation purposes only with focus on the head to show full hood for Opaline and Peach-Face for Normal or Split-Opaline. Breeding Pair 1:   OPALINE (c) x OPALINE (h) Parent :  Cock is OPALINE  (DAD) Hen is OPALINE  (MOM) Offspring : Sons are  OPALINE Daughters are  OPALINE Cock is OPALINE (Dad) Hen is OPALINE (Mom) ALL OFFSPRINGS ARE OPALINE All Sons are OP
Read more

WattaBird! Breeding White African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! Breeding White African LoveBirds White LoveBird This project is aimed at producing  White  LoveBirds . In technical terms, these are called  Turquoise Ino  or  Blue Violet Ino  mutations. I got this breeding program from  Tom's LoveBird Farm in Riverside California . I requested from Tom, permission for me to use the information related to his breeding projects, which he willingly gave his approval and I'm very much thankful for his generosity. The  projected offspring  for this project is a  LoveBird (Agapornis Roseicollis), which is  almost all white with a yellow tint on the wings and head .  The rump also will have barely yellow on it. For the rest of this article, I will be addressing this as a  White LoveBird . I'm very much excited about this breeding project, and looking forward to my first White LoveBirds ! OPTION 1:  First  Generation  Pairing: Creamino (Cock) x Blue Violet (Hen) First Generation Projected Offspring: Daughters  
Read more

WattaBird! Breeding Violet Fischer African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird! Breeding Violet Fischer African LoveBirds The objective of this breeding project is simply to produce Violet Fischer series Lovebirds. For this breeding project, both the Cock and the Hen are Violet Fischers . This type of pairing will generally produce Violet Fischers, Blue Fischers, Medium Blue (Cobalt) Fischers, Dark Blue (Mauve) Fischers. Violet Fischer African LoveBird Gallery Here's my Violet Fischer Breeder. This pair is a back to back Violet Fischer LoverBird. The Cock is on the right. LoveBird Cocks are normally smaller than the Hen. Fischer LoveBirds are not sexually dimorphic. This means that there is no way to tell just by looking at them. Both look the same.  This is the Cock. This is the Hen. “The main objective of WattaBird.com is to promote African Loverbirds Breeding as a hobby, share breeding experiences, tips, techniques, best practices, and most importantly, to promote camaraderie among LoveBirds Breeders.” -  WattaBird.com
Read more

WattaBird GALLERY! Baby Fischer African LoveBirds

Image
WattaBird GALLERY! Baby Fischer African LoveBirds Mauve Fischer This is a result of two Dark factors. By pairing two dark factors (back-to-back Violet Fischer), this pairing has resulted to a Gray color (Mauve). ALBS2: African Lovebird (Eye-Ring)  This is an offspring of my African Lovebird Breeder. Cock: Violet Fischer x Hen: Violet Fischer **************** Albino Fischer ALBS2: African LoveBird (Eye-Ring)  This is an exact duplicate of the Father except for the Red-Eye. This offspring has completely White feathers and Red eyes. This is an offspring of my African Lovebird Breeder. Cock: Bulls White x Hen: Bulls Yellow Note: If the eyes are black, this becomes a Bulls White Fisher. **************** Lutino Fischer ALBS2: African LoveBird (Eye-Ring) This is an exact duplicate of the mother except for the Red-Eye. Note the Reddish Orange covering the entire head and the upper breast  to the upper abdomen. This is the coloration of a pure Lutino.  This is an offspring of my African Lov
Read more

WattaBird! Understanding the Peach-Faced LoveBirds Mutations (Part 1 of 3: Recessive Inheritance)

Image
WattaBird! Understanding the Peach-Faced LoveBirds Mutations  (Part 1 of 3: Recessive Inheritance) Agapornis Roseicollis In order to understand the evolution of the mutations and combinations in the Peach-Faced African LoveBirds, we need to understand the three methods or patterns of inheritance.  They are  Recessive ,  Sex-Linked , and   Factor .  My research led me to different sites and posts, but I got the most interesting and most informative presentation of this topic from an article written by Rick Smith from Lakeview Terrace, California.  The article is titled, The Peach-Faced LoveBirds, Agapornis Roseicollis and its Mutations which was featured in the AFA WatchBird magazine. “If You have any questions, suggestions, or topics to discuss please leave a comment below.” Let us start with the  RECESSIVE  inheritance.   (This is Part 1 of 3) RECESSIVE INHERITANCE RECESSIVE  inheritance in African LoveBirds requires both parents to have the recessive genes for the mutation to be seen
Read more