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Peach-faced Lovebird

Agapornis roseicollis
Conservation Status: 
Least Concern
Range: 
South Africa
Habitat: 
Arid regions with a water source

Peach-faced Lovebirds are a color mutation of the Rosy-faced Lovebird, a small species of parrot. The rest of this information will cover natural behaviours of the Rosy-faced Lovebird.

Their diet mainly consists of seeds, berries, and millet, which they forage for in their environment. As highly social parrots, Rosy-faced Lovebirds often travel in groups of 5 to 20 individuals. They exhibit strong social behavior and are known to form larger congregations of up to 100 birds when grass seeds ripen.

These lovebirds deal with predators by mobbing. They will stand upright and loudly squawk at the predator. They will flap their wings wildly, holding their bodies erect, and increase their squawking to even higher pitched sounds if the predator comes closer. They will move closer and if the predator still doesn’t back down, large groups of the lovebirds will attack.

Breeding behavior among Rosy-faced Lovebirds involves building nests in rock crevices. These Lovebirds are adept climbers, able to climb vertical surfaces by flapping their wings rapidly. Female lovebirds gather thin strips of wood, paper, or other materials and stuff them in between their back feathers just above their tails. They sometimes must fly significant distances to gather these nesting materials, so this behavior helps them gather more material per trip. They lay 4 to 6 eggs per clutch, which the female will incubate for around 23 days.

This species is currently listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List, but they face several conservation issues. One of the main concerns is habitat loss and degradation due to human activities, which reduces the number of nesting sites and amount of food available for these birds. Additionally, the extraction of water for human use in arid regions can deplete the permanent standing water sources that Rosy-faced Lovebirds depend on.

They can live up to 25 years.