Black-winged Lovebird |
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Also known as: Abyssinian Lovebird
Black-winged Lovebird
© Veli Pohjonen via Wikimedia Commons
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The Black-winged or Abyssinian Lovebird is the only lovebird that uses its own feathers for its nest. Other lovebirds use twigs, leaves and other debris.Academic Research
Related publications: Agapornis tarantaSpecies Profile
Genus: Agapornis | Species: taranta
Size:
17cm (6.6 in)
Weight:
48g (1.7 oz)
Races including nominate:
one
Colour Adult:
Male-mostly green; red forehead and lores; black flight feathers and underwing coverts; green lower back to upper tail coverts; green tail, the lateral feathers yellow at base and banded black near tip. Bill coral red. Feathered eye ring red. Eye dark brown. Female-green head; green underwing coverts, sometimes with black markings.
Colour Juvenile:
As in adult female, but underwing coverts black in male. Bill dusky yellow with black at base.
Call:
Calls in flight high-pitched, shrieky notes; also shrill, twittering notes.
Listen NowVideo Links:
Video 1 | Video 2More Information:
Avibase
AvianWeb
Handbook of the Birds of the World
Content Sources:
CITES
Lexicon of Parrots
Animal World
BirdLife International
Internet Bird Collection
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998
ML Media Collection Catalogue 100233, Black-winged Lovebird (Agapornis taranta), Macaulay, Linda, Ethiopia, January 9 1996, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Site
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1977. 2010 issue
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Black-winged Lovebird
© Veli Pohjonen via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Black-winged or Abyssinian Lovebird is the only lovebird that uses its own feathers for its nest. Other lovebirds use twigs, leaves and other debris.Academic Research
Related publications: Agapornis tarantaSpecies Care
Captive Status:
Uncommon in aviculture.
Longevity:
10-15yrs
Housing:
Enclosure or aviary, indoors or outdoors, minimum length 1.2m (4 ft).
Diet:
Small seed mix such as: canary, millet and oats; hemp in cold weather; fruits such as: apple, pear, oranges if taken; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, kale, dandelion, chickweed; willow catkins; spray millet; rearing food made from hard-boiled egg, wholegrain bread, low fat cheese and carrot, all ground to crumbly consistency, given while rearing young; complete kibble for lovebirds.
Enrichment:
Vigorous chewer so provide bird-safe, unsprayed flowering, fir, pine, willow and elder branches; wooden block or vegetable tanned leather toys, heat sterilized pine cones; ladders, swings and ropes.
Nest Box Size:
Vertical box 6" x 6" x 10" (15cm x 15cm x 25.4cm).
Clutch Size:
3-4
Incubation Time:
24 days
Fledging Age:
7 weeks
Hatch Weight:
Not recorded.
Peak Weight:
Not recorded.
Weaning Weight:
Not recorded.
Black-winged Lovebird
© Veli Pohjonen via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Black-winged or Abyssinian Lovebird is the only lovebird that uses its own feathers for its nest. Other lovebirds use twigs, leaves and other debris.Academic Research
Related publications: Agapornis tarantaSpecies Wild Status
World Population:
Unknown, increasing.
IUCN Red List Status:
Least Concern
CITES Listing:
Appendix II
Threat Summary:
Habitat degradation suspected to be creating new areas of suitable habitat, leading to population increase.
Range:
Highlands of Ethiopia and S Eritrea.
Habitat:
Found from 1600-3800m (5248-12,464 ft) in highlands associated with montane forest, lower altitudes in grassy savanna and Acacia, Combretum and Hypericum woodland; also seen in cultivated and some urban areas.
Wild Diet:
Feeds on tree fruits, including figs and berries.
Ecology and Behaviour:
Seen in small flocks outside of breeding season. Gathers in larger numbers where food abundant. Roosts communally in tree cavity, often an old woodpecker or barbet nest.
Clutch and Egg Size:
3-4 rounded eggs, 24.5 x 19.0mm (0.95 x 0.7 in)
Breeding Season:
March-November
Related Links:
Wikipedia
Research: Status of and threats to the Black-winged Lovebird...
Black-winged Lovebird
© Veli Pohjonen via Wikimedia Commons
Photos
View in GalleryDid You Know?
The Black-winged or Abyssinian Lovebird is the only lovebird that uses its own feathers for its nest. Other lovebirds use twigs, leaves and other debris.Academic Research
Related publications: Agapornis tarantaMembers Only Resources
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