Family Parrots (Psittacidae)

Near Threatened

Fischer's Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri)

figure, drawing, illustration of Fischer's Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri)

Taxonomy

French: Inséparable de Fischer German: Pfirsichköpfchen Spanish: Inseparable de Fischer
Taxonomy:

Agapornis Fischeri

Reichenow

, 1887,

Ussure, Tanzania

.

Sometimes treated as conspecific with A. personatus, and also on occasion with A. lilianae and A. nigrigenis; perhaps best considered to form a species-group with all three. Monotypic.

Distribution:

Virtually confined to Tanzania S and E of L Victoria, including some islands off S shore; range centred on Serengeti. Records from S Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda appear to refer to wild individuals irrupting in response to drought within normal range, but could involve feral birds as well.

Feral populations exist in coastal Tanzania and Kenya, including Dar es Salaam and Mombasa (also Nairobi)#R, and in SE France#R, some mixed or hybridizing with A. personatus.

Descriptive notes

15 cm; 42–58 g. Forehead and bill red, less intense on rest of head and shading on nape, sides of neck and throat to yellowish pink, then green on lower breast and... read more

Voice

Commonest vocalization a screechy “krreek” or a disyllabic “chi-reek!”. When perched, utters a wide... read more

Habitat

Wooded grasslands with Acacia, Commiphora and Adansonia, at 1100–... read more

Food and feeding

Essentially granivorous, including seeds of the grass Penisetum mezianum and weed Achyranthes asper collected from... read more

Breeding

Jan–Apr, Jun–Jul. Most nests 2–15 m up in dead trees or dead branches of living trees, commonly in old woodpecker or... read more

Movements

Sedentary, although with local dry season movements, and irruptions in Jul–Aug some years... read more

Status and conservation

Not globally threatened. CITES II. Currently considered near-­threatened. A BirdLife “restricted-range” species. Locally common, fairly common and widespread. Range... read more

Recommended citation

Collar, N. & Boesman, P. (2019). Fischer's Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/54597 on 11 December 2019).