There are nine different species of Lovebirds and they all originate in Africa (except for the Madagascar Lovebird, which originates on Madagascar Island) and range in size from 5 inches to 6.5 inches. Only 3 species are sexually dimorphic – which means you can tell the male from the female just by looking at them.

The most common Lovebird kept as a pet is the Peach Faced Lovebird. Due to their popularity, there are several different colour mutations.

The Peach Faced Lovebird is not sexually dimorphic.

Angola and Namibia are the areas in Africa where these birds can be found in their native habitat.
Shown here is the normal or wild colour.




Another species regularly kept as a pet is the Masked Lovebird. There are several colour mutations of this lovebird as well, although not as many as with the Peach Faced.

The Masked Lovebird is not sexually dimorphic. They are one of the 4 species of Lovebird that has eye rings.

Tanzania is the area in African where these birds can be found in their native habitat.
Shown here is the normal or wild colour.





Less common, but often available is the Fischer’s Lovebird. Several different colour mutations have been developed with this Lovebird.

These birds are not sexually dimorphic. They are one of the 4 species of Lovebird that has eye rings.

The native habitat is northern Tanzania.
Shown here is the normal or wild colour.

The rest of the lovebirds are not commonly seen. These include:

Black Cheeked Lovebird - not sexually dimorphic, but one of the 4 species of Lovebird with eye rings – found in very select areas of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Nyasa Lovebird - not sexually dimorphic, but one of the 4 species of Lovebird with eye rings found in parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania.

Abyssinian Lovebird - sexually dimorphic with the males having a red forehead and black underwing feathers, both sexes have red beaks and the females are green overall – found in Ethiopia.

Black Collared Lovebird – not sexually dimorphic – found in Liberia and southern Ghana with a similar sub species found in Cameroon and Uganda.

Madagascar Lovebird – sexually dimorphic with the males having a full grey head and upper chest, both sexes have a horn coloured beak and the females are green overall - found on Madagascar Island off the south east coast of Africa.

Red Faced Lovebird – sexually dimorphic with the males having a red face and the females having an orange face. They are found over a large area from central Africa to Ethiopia.

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