Black-winged Lovebird
Agapornis taranta
A small, short-tailed parrot that is mostly dark green. Males have a red patch above the bill and black underwings that are distinctive in flight. Found at middle elevations in the Abyssinian highlands, in savanna, woodland, and forest, usually in small flocks. Very similar to Red-headed Lovebird, but range overlap is minor, and Black-winged is separated by the facial pattern: a small red patch in males and no colorful patch in females. The call is a high-pitched, sliding “see-lee,” often given in flight.
Identification
The black-winged lovebird, with a length of about 16–16.5 cm (6.25–6.5 inches), is the largest of all the lovebirds. It is sexually dimorphic, as are the red-headed lovebird and grey-headed lovebird of the lovebird genus. The dimorphism becomes apparent in juvenile birds after their first molt at about eight or nine months of age. Both the male and female black-winged lovebird are mostly green, and only the adult male black-winged lovebird has a red forehead and a ring of red feathers around its eyes.<p>The tail is black tipped and feathers below the tail show a yellowish colour. The rump and feathers above the tail are light green. In the male feathers under the wing are typically black, and in the female the feathers under the wing are typically greenish or brownish black. Both sexes have a red beak and gray feet.
Taxonomy
A holotype of Psittacus Taranta Stanley (Salt's Voy. to Abyssinia, 1814, App IV, p.lii(=52)), an adult male, is held in the vertebrate zoology collection of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession number NML-VZ D704. The specimen was collected in Taranta Pass, Acchele Guzai District, Eritrea in 1809-10 by Henry Salt. The specimen came to the Liverpool national collection via the 13th Earl of Derby's collection which was bequeathed to the people of Liverpool in 1851.
- Scientific name
- Agapornis taranta
- Authority
- (Stanley, 1814)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Agapornis
Range and habitat
The natural habitat for a black-winged lovebird is typically from southern Eritrea to southwestern Ethiopia and they normally live in either high plains or mountainous regions.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Sunflower seeds, corn, apples and mission figs are typical of an Abyssinian lovebird diet.<p>The black-winged lovebird nests in a tree cavity. The eggs are white and there are usually three or four eggs in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for 23 days, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 45 days after hatching .<p>Reproductive Period:<p>Occurs from March to November; nesting takes place in tree hollows, crevices in walls, and potentially in weavers' nests. The nests are furnished with a combination of plant debris and feathers.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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