Love Birds Information

Activities

• Love birds have a wide singing range and are able to imitate the human voice as well, although this is uncommon. Almost immediately after waking in the early morning, love birds will begin chirping. Typically, they chirp for several hours and will then be quiet until late afternoon when they will begin chirping again.

  Love birds are active and do a lot of flying, climbing, grooming, chewing and playing. They enjoy a variety of toys in their cages. Love birds are explorers, and if not contained in a cage, may get into trouble in a home.

  Love birds enjoy bathing either in a dish or by being sprayed with water. Often love birds will perch on the edge of a water dish and bathe by dipping their head and body into the water and moving their wings. This is their preferred bathing method, as opposed to being completely in the water.

Taming

• Young love birds can readily be tamed. They also are able to learn tricks and can become affectionate toward their owners. Love birds that have been raised since a young age are very tame and friendly. Taming a love bird involves spending time every day with the bird. Trust and affection must be cultivated. If an owner makes careful movements and talks softly to a love bird, the bird will become comfortable and may even become hand-tamed. A bird that is hand-tamed will perch on a person's hand.

Pairs of Lovebirds

• Love birds are happiest when they have a mate. A single love bird will require a great deal of attention from an owner, whereas a pair of lovebirds will interact with each other. Love birds are extremely loyal to an owner or a mate. If love birds are exposed to other birds that they have not bonded to, they tend to be aggressive. Before pairing a lovebird, make sure they are a good match. Once a pair of love birds have bonded to each other, they will enjoy grooming each other and will even feed each other.

Appearance

• Love birds range between 5 and 7.5 inches in length and grow to between 1.5 and 2.5 ounces in weight. They are one of the smallest parrots. The tail of the lovebird can either be square-shaped or round. An average love bird lives from 10 to 12 years.

  Various species of love birds can be identified by markings and colors. Each species is known for its own special color combination. Young love birds are dull colored. The colors of love birds gets darker and brighter as they get older.

Cages

• The cage of a love bird must be large to accommodate these active birds. If a smaller cage is used, the love birds must be allowed to have flying time outside of the cage each day. A pair of love birds should have at least 35 cubic feet of cage space and four perches to be happy in a cage. Love birds enjoy fresh air and sunny rooms. Love birds also appreciate nesting boxes for resting.