Birds of Birdland: Love Birds

Love birds are a very familiar species of bird, especially for anyone that has been into a pet store in their life. There are actually nine different species of the love bird and they are all very social and loveable parrots. While eight of their species are native to Africa, the other is native to Madagascar. Since they are so loveable and social, they make excellent pets for those that are looking for a special feathered friend.

Love birds come in all different colors and are between 13 and 17 centimeters in length and will weigh between 40 to 60 grams. These are the smallest parrots, and are stocky with a shorter, blunt tail. They do, however, have large, sharp beaks, which means that they will need to be handled with care until they are used to their new owners. You'll find them in several different colors, usually green with a mix of colors on their upper bodies. There are tons of beautiful color variations from breeding different colored Love birds together.

Since they do bond together for life as mates, they will also form these same types of relationships with people. The problem is that aggression is easily aroused in these birds, and they can bite until a bond is formed with gentle handling. Once they have that bond with their owners, they love to snuggle and will even preen their owners. With Love birds being aggressive to new people, many bird owners prefer to get their birds from those that were raised in captivity instead of wild birds. Plus, wild birds can harbor diseases and they will mourn the loss of a mate that might have been left behind.

Some Love birds can be taught to talk, but most will not, even though they will learn to mimic human sounds. They are noisy birds, with a massive range of calls that can range from low and cute to high pitched and irritating.

It is very hard to determine the sex of a Love bird. Some breeders can tell by the actions that Love birds do, such as ripping paper and stuffing it into it's feathers, as females do, or regurgitating for it's owners, as males do. But, sometimes both sexes can do this. The only sure fire way to tell if a Love bird is male or female is through DNA testing and there are companies out there that will do this.

Love birds require a cage that will provide them with plenty of room to play and grow. The recommended space per bird is 1 meter X 1 meter X 1 meter. They love chew toys, especially those made of wood, since their beaks are made of keratin which is always growing. They also love toys that require play, such as branches, swings, tunnels, boxes, and so on.

Their diet consists of whole grains, edible blossoms and flowers, greens or weeds, vegetables, grains and fruit - although they cannot eat Avocados, because they are toxic to birds. You can find these things at your local pet store or holistic food shoppe.

For more information on Love birds, you can look up specifics of their habits, feeding, care, and more online or through books at your library or local pet store.