Friday, January 4, 2008

Love Birds


Love birds belong to the parrot family. Scientific classification of love birds in given below:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Family: Psittacidae
Genus: Agapornis



The most interesting aspect of love birds is that they form a very lasting lifelong relationship with their mates। Perhaps this notable feature has made the association of these birds and love so pertinent in the human context.

They form a very strong bond with their human masters and many strongly believe that love birds should be kept only in pairs.


Love birds as pets are popular all over the world and they make good gifts on Valentine's Day. Love birds are quite small when compared to sizes of other parrots. They are light in weight and physically, these birds are small, stockily built and have a small, adorable and blunt tail. Compared to the overall size of the birds, their beaks are rather large. Though primarily green, these birds can be found in other colors too. Some species like Fischer's black cheeked and the yellow collared love bird have a white ring around the eye. On an average, a love bird will live for ten to fifteen years.


Love birds were found in large numbers in the African Continent. The ninth species, Agapornis canus, has originated from Madagascar. Love birds live in small flocks and eat mainly fruit, vegetables, some grasses and seed. Many love bird species are sexually dimorphic. Because of their attachment to their mates, they find many references in the human context. Valentine's Day is famous for showering of gifts and love birds as pets, love birds photos in frames, love bird greeting cards are freely exchanged.

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