NYASA LOVEBIRD agapornis lilianae

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GENERAL CARE

Peachfaced Lovebird agapornis rosecollis

Masked Lovebird agapornis personatus

Fischers Lovebird agapornis fischeri

Abyssinian lovebird agapornis taranta

Black Cheeked Lovebird agapornisnig nigrigenis

Nyasa Lovebird agaspornis lilianae

Madagascar Lovebird   agapornis Cana

Red faced lovebird agapornis pullarius

Black-collared Lovebird agapornis swindernianus

General description

Lenth 5 1/4 in (13.5cm) general plumage green witrh an iridescent quality, lighter on the rump with underparts, forehead and throat orange-red merging into salmon pink on crown, lores, cheeks and upper breast (cocks are often more yellow to the rear of trhe head) face should have a minimum of shading on the cheeks, however this is normal on immature birds; tail green, lateral feathers marked with yellow-orange and basally and subterminall barred with black; naked periophthalmic ring white, bill coral-red fading to pink at the bace, iris dark reddish-brown, legs greyish-brown, size should be noticeable smaller than masked or fischers.

A good specimen should have the following qualites

1. The body should be slender and compact

2. The wing tips should sit together over the tail

3. The tail should be short and tapered

4. The head should be well rounded

5. The face should be appealing with a round and bright eye

6. The plumage colour should be even and clearly defined, any bird showing blue feathers on the rump should be regarded as a hybrid

7. The feather condition should be immaculate

8. The feet should be clean and not turned in, and the toes should be straight and show no signs of curling inwards, there should be no scars or mutilation and all nails should be present

9. The bill should be clean and show no scars or mutilation

10. Overall the bird should display an exhibition carriage and stance

The following are articles if interest from previous society magazines

ON THE WILD SIDE

By John Douglas

(In this article he explains same thing about the natural history of this species and the strong reasons for encouraging captive breeding)

I was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Over a twenty year period I spent many months in the Zambesi River Valley, the primary habitat of the Nyasa Lovebird (Agapornis lilianae). It will, I hope, interest members of the Society to learn something of them in their wild state.
They live in a few major valleys of large rivers in southern Africa, Winter Temperatures range from 40oF at night to 8OoF in the daytime; in summer up to 90oF at night and 110oF in the daytime, in other words, from pretty warm to very hot.
Conditions are quite harsh, with every form of predator and bloodsucking insect one can imagine. Droughts are common and uncontrolled bushfires bum off large areas every year.
Rainfall is tropical, with thunderstorms from November to March, giving an average 30 to 35 inches per year.
Nyasas are very rarely seen higher than 2000 feet above sea level, although the habitat at higher levels appears identical. this suggests that heat is an important factor in their lives, and they are one of the few birds I know of that is still active in the neat of the day,
Nyasas prefer open woodland to dense scrub and feed both in the trees and on the ground. Grass cover is sparse in woodland, so I would suggest that most ground feeding is on seeds. From the trees, food consists of berries, buds, seeds and shoots depending on the season. Certain flowering trees attract large flocks of the birds which appear to relish the flowers themselves.
It is of particular interest to note that Nyasas are never found far from Mopane woodland (Calopaspernum mopane) whose trunks are full of holes and whose seed is high in protein and much sought after by many sorts of wildlife.
When not breeding the Nyasas travel in flocks, roosting in holes where as many as sixteen birds have been observed to share the one roosting cavity.
From July to October the flocks split up to breed. Nesting takes place in natural holes in trees from three feet above ground level and up. The access hole is normally just big enough to admit the adult bird. Large hollows are not used, although I have had free flying captive bred Nyasas nesting in the roof of my house.
Fine grass is normally the preferred nesting material and clutch size is normally three to five eggs.
From an agricultural standpoint, the soil, with the exception of a few small pockets. is poor, although some areas have already fallen to the axe and plough of human settlers. The despoiled areas are likely to increase in size with the pressure of increasing population.
You will remember that the Zambesi valley is the principal Nyasa habitat; Lake Kanba flooded 5 10,000 hectares of it. Cabora Bossa Dam inundated another huge amount and at least one other dam of similar potential impact is on the drawing board.
In total some 3,000,000 acres of habitat flooded or about to be so. Add to that the previously described human encroachment on its habitat and the Nyasa Lovebird has a very poor future before it.
White the government of Zimbabwe has, to its credit, banned the exportation of wild caught birds, it is well known that lovebirds are smuggled into neighbouring Zambia (where their own stocks have already been depleted) for export. Unless we to the UK create a viable breeding stock, this species of Lovebird will be lost forever.