Red-headed Lovebird

The Red-headed Lovebird also known as the Red-faced Lovebird is a member of the genus Agapornis, a group commonly known as Lovebirds. Like other lovebirds it is native to Africa.

Description

The Red-headed Lovebird is 15 cm (6 inches) long. It is a mostly green parrot. It has a well demarcated red area on its head extending from the top of the beak, over the forehead to mid-crown, and extending to the left and right up to the eyelid margins. The have grey feet. The underside of the wings are a lighter green. The female has orange head colouring, which is less well demarcated than the males red head. The adult male has a red beak and the female has a paler red beak.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to a wide range in Africa including Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guine, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. In addition, it is an introduced species in Liberia.

Breeding

It makes its nest in a termites nest usually in a tree or sometimes on the ground. To make a nest the female digs a tunnel up to a length of 30 cm in the termites nest in a colony with other lovebirds.

Aviculture

It is difficult to breed in captivity because it has to burrow to make its nest and the nest chamber needs to be heated to about 27C; however, they can be induced to burrow into cork to build a nest. It is a very nervous species.