Lovebird Courtship and Mating: What We Learned
Introduction
Sometimes, lovebirds don't end up as mates even though they are bound to be "in love" some time or other. I am lucky as my birds ended up as mates, even when there wasn't any scope of friendship between them.
In this article we will address the following major topics (Based on my personal experience) :
- Courtship in Lovebirds
- Mating Ritual
- What do Lovebird Mates do?
- Jealousy in Pets
- What Happens when you Bring a New Bird (Mate) Home?
- Lovebird Personalities (Fun Facts about my Pets)
Meet Mumu (male: on the right) and Lulu (female: on the left)
Courtship in Lovebirds
How my pets ended up as mates will be explained later. Let's see what courtship and mating are, first. After we came back from India, we noticed that Mulu (their ship name) were closer than before. They weren't enemies anymore. They were friends, infact we felt they were going to become more than friends. Here are the tell-tale signs of courtship/attracting a mate:
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Regurgitation
This is the first sign of courtship in lovebirds. The male tries to attract/woo the female by regurgitating (bringing swallowed food up again to the mouth) and feeding her. This begins when the male bobs his head up and down to bring back food from his crop.
Mumu fed Lulu many times to win her trust and attraction. She denied eating from his mouth at the beginning, but approved and asked to be fed later on. This feeding continues rigorously when the female gets pregnant, lays eggs and also when their chicks are born.
Tip: When the male feeds the female rigorously, make sure to provide healthy nutritious foods like corn, whole wheat bread, egg white and yolk (once a month in small amounts); and egg shell bits as calcium supplements, fresh/dried spinach leaves (according to your bird's taste) and lots of fresh water.
Mumu Feeding Lulu by Regurgitation
Regurgitation is the First Step of Courtship in Lovebirds
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Closeness
When your birds remain close together and you feel like they are stuck together like glue (well it just puts together what I want to say), it means they are soon to be mates.
The Obvious Proximity Between Lovebirds (Onto Becoming Mates)
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Preening Each Other
Lovebirds preen (clean their feathers) each other all the time. This means they will become mates soon. They look so sweet while doing this. It is the best sight to watch (according to me).
Mumu initiated preening Lulu. At first, she didn't respond back by preening him. He urged her to preen him by pressing his head in her stomach. It took a while and lot of effort from him to win her over. Their love is so strong now. Roles are reversed, she preens him most of the time now! It's so endearing to watch this behavior.
Mulu Preening Each Other
Click thumbnail to view full-size
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Nesting Behavior
When you see your female lovebird shredding paper into long strips with her beak and putting them in her back, she is displaying nesting behavior. It means she is ready for mating and is practicing nest making! However, this activity can be part of her entertainment too.
Tip: You aren't sure about the gender of your lovebird, but don't want to do a DNA test. How to know it's gender then? When your bird displays the nesting behavior mentioned above, you can be sure it's a female. This is because even though males try to imitate this, they remain unsuccessful. (My male bird can just tear bits, he can't make strips!) However, there can be exceptions.
Nesting Behavior Exhibited!
Click thumbnail to view full-size
Mating Ritual
The male lovebird makes sounds like "click", "click" with his beak and moves around the female. He puts his foot on her wings and grabs them for climbing on her back. The female opens her wings to balance his weight. Then, mating follows. This process is repeated several times a day. Eggs are laid within 5-7 days post mating, with each being laid in a gap of 1-2 days (there can be exceptions/delays).
Lovebirds Making Love!
What do Lovebird Mates do?
So your lovebirds are now mates. What do they do together? Read on and find out...
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Eating Together
When your birds eat together, it means they are acknowledging each other's presence and are spending their time together.
Yum! Seeds!
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Playing Together
Mulu play together a lot. I have a bag of chewy toys for them, with trinkets and beads. They also love shredding paper. By copying Lulu, Mumu has learnt how to put a paper bit in his tail! (He is unsuccessful most of the time.) Yeah, a great accomplishment! He tries this when given dried palm leaves too.
Toys and Paper Strips
I Can Do that Too!
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Bathing Together
This doesn't happen most of the time, but sometimes Mulu bath together. When Mumu begins bathing, Lulu follows him and starts bathing too. They look so cute while doing this.
Let's Get Clean
It's so Cold, Let's Dry Ourselves
Mulu Preening each Other After Bathing
Reason for Buying the New Bird Lulu
We planned to go to India for a small vacation. We were very worried about Mumu. So, to give him company, we bought Lulu. We were lucky, as it is very hard to get single lovebirds. Thanks to Mr. Jafar; a man who previously worked in a pet shop, as he decided to keep Mumu and Lulu in his house for 3 weeks. Both were kept in safe hands and their bonding grew considerably. Well, coming back to the beginning, we hoped they would bond with each other, as soon as they would be together for the first time. But we were wrong...
Caution ⚠
Never put a new bird in the same cage as your pet bird. It could lead to fighting, which could cause injuries. Keep them in separate cages. There must always be supervision when they are let out of their cages.
Jealousy in Pets
Mumu was shocked, well not just shocked, jealous too. I had never been bitten my him before, until Lulu came. He hated the fact that she was getting our attention. But, we never gave her more attention than him, as we knew he was jealous. We kept both of them in separate cages, which were placed side by side. Doing this ensured two things; they couldn't fight and they could watch each other, which would probably help in making them friends.
Pet birds can get jealous too!
A pet bird does not understand why another bird has entered the house, he/she only knows that someone else is getting your attention. He/She might even bite you out of jealousy. Be extra sensitive to his/her strong feelings.
How?
Give more attention to your first pet. Do not ignore him/her by giving all your attention and love to the new bird. Always talk to your pet bird calmly. Try to reassure him/her by giving a head scratch, a treat or a new toy. This would help in reducing the jealousy.
Let's Take the Jealousy Poll!
Have you ever seen your pet being jealous?
What Happens When you Bring a New Bird (Mate) Home?
When Mulu were together, the following things happened:
- He would always approach her, would scream at her, or try to intimidate her. But she never got scared by him. She stayed her cool and calm self.
Mumu intimidating Lulu
- He tried to move her away when she sat on our knees or shoulders. But she would never budge. Way to go, girl!
- They always fought over the same piece of toy. Though there were many toys to play with, they would try to snatch each other's toys. Even if there would be two of the same kind! I had to play peacemaker so many times. Phew!
Mulu Fighting Over Sequins
- Both of them just tried to scare each other by trying to fight. They tried to hit each other but didn't; instead it would appear as if they are trying to make each other back off with their beaks.
Playing and Fighting too! (Ignore the Mess, we were Packing that Time...)
Some Fun Facts About my Pets!
Lovebirds are of different personalities, just like humans! Each bird is unique and special in his/her own way. Mumu and Lulu are complete opposites, yet they are mates. I have mentioned some fun facts about my pets below. Enjoy reading!
The "Rainbow Sorbet" Mumu
Bio data of Mumu
- Name: Mumu (in the memory of my granny who called my sister by this pet name.)
- Sex: Male
- Date of Birth: Three weeks old baby when bought on 12 March 2016.
- Species: Medium green heavy-pied peach faced lovebird.
- Personality: Package of curiosity, aggression and a happy-go-lucky nature rolled in one.
- Unique abilities: Can clearly speak "Step up" and "Come here". Understands emotions and screams angrily (if we scold him).
- Routine: Follow us around the house and pokes his "nose" in all our matters.
- Nicknames: "Chaplu" (meaning nosy in our native language), "Kalejo" (meaning the apple of an eye in our native language) and Softy Pie.
- Likes: Playing outside all day, getting lots of attention, head scratches, kisses and listening to Blank Space (Thank you Taylor Swift, my bird gets sleepy, while listening to your song! It acts like a lullaby for him), sung by my sister and me.
- Dislikes: Going back inside the cage and when we touch his stuff (seeds, toys, and his cage).
- Most loved activity: Chewing toys and chains, banana tips, my mobile's cover (sadly, but I don't allow him) and carpet threads.
- Cause of sadness: When we are away, he needs us around him, all the time. Also, he needs his mate Lulu too.
Mumu Sleeping on my hand after Listening to Blank Space (Sung by me!)
The "Cotton Candy" Lulu
Bio data of Lulu
- Name: Lulu (meaning pearl in Arabic; she is truly the gem personified.)
- Sex: Female
- Date of Birth: Six months old (according to pet shop owner) on 18 July 2016.
- Species: White-Faced violet roseicollis peach faced lovebird.
- Personality: Quiet, reserved and as cool as a cucumber. She doesn't take any matter to heart and is very calm and composed.
- Unique abilities: Puts her whole face inside the water bowl sprinkling droplets upon herself and then pushes it against the cage bars, to let water fall on her body. She can untie the nylon thread which locks the cage door and escape away. She can also open the closed cage door and get inside easily. Pretty smart for a bird, I must say. She never bites, gets angry or aggressive.
- Routine: Peculiar habit of eating seeds inside her water bowl. Post this, she tries to remove the "mess" with her tongue, drinks the "seedy water" and sprinkles it upon herself. Seeing this I sometimes say, "Hey, I just changed the water now!"
- Nicknames: Snow White, Fur ball and Softy Pie.
- Likes: Sitting and eating from the money plant pot (the plants withered, so we filled the pots with seeds), running her beak through our hair (sometimes) and exploring different designs (of fabrics, carpet and toys.)
- Dislikes: When Mumu is away from her sight and when we try to get too close to her (she needs her personal space too.)
- Most loved activity: Shredding any type of paper and loves tearing cardboard too.
- Cause of sadness: When Mumu stays away from her. So, she calls him loudly, flapping her wings and he appears before her the next second.
Lulu Loves to Eat from her "Seed Pot"!
Conclusion
I would like to end by saying that lovebirds can be friends or mates or enemies too. It isn't necessary that any two lovebirds can end up as mates. I am glad mine did.
Currently, Lulu has laid 9 eggs (squeals) and sits on them. I am waiting to see the new born chicks and speculating what their color might turn out to be. When the chicks will be born, I will surely make another hub about egg laying in lovebirds. Till then, Happy Mating!
Questions & Answers
I have two lovebirds who are about two-years-old. They are both male (by DNA) and have always regurgitated on their beds. Recently it has become worrisome because of the amount of exudate. It doesn't seem they are eating enough food to keep up. They do not seem to eat the product. It's messy and worrisome. Is there anything I can do?
Please buy two adult female lovebirds for your male lovebirds. That's the only way the food will be regurgitated to the females instead of messing up their cage. Also, regurgitation is a process in male lovebirds, it cannot be stopped or distracted.
Helpful 2I have a single male lovebird. He recently started regurgitating. How long does this typically last?
He will regurgitate for almost his whole life, as it's his nature to feed his mate. Please get him a female lovebird.
Helpful 3Does a male lovebird open its tail?
Lovebirds don't open tails, but they do wag them. That means that they are happy.
Helpful 3My female lovebird recently lost her mate. How do I find her a new partner?
Visit a local pet store and look out for a cage with many lovebirds. You can ask the shop owner to give you the healthiest male lovebird, but don't separate a lovebird couple.
Helpful 3
© 2016 Sakina Nasir
Comments
AUTHOR@Kelli Hi! :) I have heard of male lovebirds bonding with each other over time. It isn't the same as having a mate, but they will definitely not feel lonely.
Hi,
I’m newly researching peach faced lovebirds because someday I’d like to have them as a pet. I’ve read that they get lonely on their own, and since we work during the day, it might be best to get two. Would a male get the same companionship out of having another male friend in his cage as having a female mate? I don’t want to get a male and a female because I don’t want to breed them and worry about Baby chicks and finding homes for them. Would you suggest that two males together would be a good companionship?
- AUTHOR
@Lynn Hi! :) Accepting the new female lovebird may take a while for your male lovebirds. Settling may take a month or more and bonding takes several months (it totally depends on the lovebirds). All we can do is wait.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
My 2male love birds don't have anything to do with the new female love bird Why?
- AUTHOR
@Nikkk Hi! :) That's really nice to hear. Let your lovebirds out of their cage every day and keep your distance from them. They will get used to you and your house.
Give them time, that will build trust. Keep food and water for them when they come out.
Hope this helps!
I have cute little ones .. I want those two to trust me and play with me .. they just afraid when I go near them
- AUTHOR
@Aishu Thank you. :) Lovebirds are really amazing pets.
- AUTHOR
@Farah Hi! :) Yes, a mix of white and gray eggs is normal. The white ones are new and the gray ones are old (and probably contain chicks in them). Lovebirds keep the eggs which are fertile, they drop the ones that aren't.
Please buy a new male lovebird for your female. A couple ensures health, the male will feed the female and also look after the chicks when they are older.
Please keep the cage in a shaded area, warmth is good for chicks, but extremely hot temperatures aren't good for the adult lovebirds.
I had pair of lovebirds and somehow the male escaped after the female laid two clutches of ten eggs in a space of few days (five each). I can not really guess the time difference between when the other clutch arrived. Its a mix of white and grey eggs. is it normal? is the female able to take care of the young alone? do lovebirds keep the eggs if they are fertile and healthy or do they still drop them? its pretty hot here like 40c and I have kept them out at a height in the veranda. is temperature alright for the chicks when they hatch?
Loved to read your post.. :)
- AUTHOR
@Anthony Emmanuell
No, please don't give any leaves or any other parts of plants like ginger, onion or garlic. They may not show side effects now, but later they may get sick or die.
Spinach, celery, coriander and leafy vegetables are only suitable for them.
Good luck! :)
Hi I already bought the baby-formula to feed the baby livebirds yesterday the first one was born still 6 more to go -I have a question working in my jardin the other day y put the cage close to my ginger plants and when I came back I do not know how they manage to eat a lot of the leaves then I cut a bunch and put it inside the cage and it was a frenzy i had never seen like me in a candy store in a few minutes the whole bunch desapired and they all are still alive can you tell me what it is about with ginger leaves I do have a couple other plantas when I have to do yard work they seem to love it these plantas normally have nice flowers but they do not eat the flowers neither the leaves they love like crazy the stern normally around 1 or 2 inches around they just go and eat that thing till is completely dry out my parrot red headed live that plant to I just chopped and put it in his water bowl and it is like candy -I pay attention for side effects but they are eating nirmal fruits and vegetales but for some reason this plants make them all nuts I my try myself to figure it out what is the excitement about I my be into something big -like a new drug jijijijiji I will call it lovebird-drug jijijiji
- AUTHOR
@Lissa Hi! :) That's so sweet to hear. Have you been noticing aggressive behavior in Errol since Elvis came or is it from before? How old is Elvis? I hope they become friends. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and for sharing this with me.
Thanks so much for your insights - beautiful. We have a girl, peach face and brought home a new purple baby for hopeful mate or companion - so opposite to yours we think. Haven't sexed little purple baby (named ELVIS). Our peach face is definitely a girl, ERROL (named by my daughter) -and she has become aggressive. I am afraid to handle her like I use to. In any event - I adore her and they are both getting to know each other, live in separate cages, we let them out to fly around the house. Errol is the boss - Elvis is still a baby so hangs on my shoulder - but am hoping they will be friends. They have been around each other for 6 weeks now - am waiting for Elvis to get that little bit bigger so he can defend himself since Errol (girl), can be full on. Her paper tail sculptures are amazing. Your article gives lots of insight. Cheers. We live in Sydney Australia. Best, Lissa
- AUTHOR
@Margaret Hi! :) Thank you so much! Do you have any lovebirds?
- AUTHOR
@Rose Hi! :) Aww that's so sweet. Give Nora some time I am sure she will not be scared of your fingers.
Great story and good information.
Hi Sakina
We rescued a peach faced lovebird, a female who we called Nora. She was hand reared and would step up on her previous owner’s finger. She became very clingy and once escaped out of her cage and flew to find me. She likes to be on my head, shoulder, chest or arm but is scared of my finger.
She was rubbing herself on the fluff at the top of her swing and we decided she was lonely!
So we bought her Jones....Nora Jones.
- AUTHOR
Aw that's so sweet! Thank you so much! Mumu and Lulu are mates, but they do fight every day. They patch up the next second, LOL. :)
Omg your pets are so cute! Mumu is so cute, I love when boys are aggressive and jealous
- AUTHOR
@Fatima Mohammad
Hi! I loved hearing about your lovebirds. :) Pitu, Pitku and Tutu are so cute. Are they all of the same age? And do you have two female lovebirds and is Pitu male?
I think if both Pitku and Tutu are females, then they might be considering Pitu their mate. I feel this. Please let know about the progress. Thank you. :)
@Wiki
Hi! If they're collecting strips of paper and putting them inside the box, it means that is nesting behavior. The female lovebird prepares the nest before laying eggs. After mating, eggs are laid by 7-10 days. Please let me know their progress. Thank you! :)
My blue pharhata pair collect strips to the nest from 5 days.i never see him mating outside of nest.how long they get more for laying egg.
I do have 3 lovebirds.. my father brought them very little, I used to feed them with syringe as their mother flew away. Few months I am noticing 2 of them mate with each other "pitu & pitku", they just shoo away other one "tutu". They all are so adorable like the way you described. Eldest one "tutu" is so angry bird, than other two from an early age can't say it was due to jealousy. "Pitu" is middle one, less clamer than eldest. Youngest one is "pitku" oh i don't like my mother gave it, but I call her "meethi" because she is most clamer than all. Though I am noticing something unusual for 2 days it is really bothering me. As all day pitu & pitku will stay together all day but at night time pitku will remain out of her house and both pitu and tutu will remain inside the box house. I don't understand is it due to summer or some other reason.
- AUTHOR
Thank you, Jason. Lovebirds are truly adorable and fun to watch when they play. They're great as pets and very loving. :)
What a lovely and adorable birds :) As an animal lover, it is always great to read articles that focus on animals. Keep up the good work :)
- AUTHOR
@Pickles Mom
Thank you so much for the question. It's saddening that the older babies kill the runt. According to me, you should separate the runt and put him/her in a brooder (transparent plastic box with slits at the cover for breathing). This would provide him/her with adequate heat and also be safe. I hope this helps and you're welcome to ask more questions. Thank you! :)
I have two sets of breeding love birds, my question re revolves around my one set, Brock and Ava, my Peach-faced love birds who I believe are about 3 yrs old. The are currently sitting on their 3rd brood. First time, Ava laid 7 eggs, 5 were fertile and hatched, but less than two days of hatching, the runt of the litter, (the last egg that hatched, got smothered and killed by the other babies as it was on the bottom of the pile in the nesting box and didn't have the strength to support itself). Same thing happens happened to her second clutch, in which she laid 6 eggs, 4 were viable and hatched and again, the runt only lived less than two/three days before the older bigger babies smothered it in the nest as it was too weak to help itself. My question is....should I be doing something different to prevent this? Can I prevent this? I don't have the means to separate it, and didn't know if the other set of breeding lovebirds would accept this baby or kill it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. PS.....all the birds are reared by their parents....I have not had to hand feed. Thx
- AUTHOR
Hi Jill! Thanks for stopping by and appreciating my work. Yes, Mumu and Lulu are inseparable. Mumu loves feeding Lulu all the time. It grows their bond stronger. They had a chick 2 weeks back, but sadly it died last week. They had only 1 chick after Lulu laid 19 eggs. The 1st 16 eggs were empty without any chicks. I don't know when will they get another chick.
A charming hub! I enjoyed learning about the mating ritual. Very sweet-- although the regurgitation bit is sort of gross! Lulu and Mumu make quite a pair. I look forward to reading about their chicks. Best, Jill
- AUTHOR
@simplehappylife
Thank you so much for showing your appreciation and sharing your thoughts with me. These tiny fur balls are very lovable and they love playing around. Seriously, they are so energetic and I don't know how! ☺
Yep! Handling 3 dogs as pets must be a tough.
Oh my goodness ❤ They are SO PRECIOUS!
LOL! I started visualizing if humans courted each other like love birds. Regurgitating and then feeding us! LOL.
Great article! Super informative :) Makes me want love birds, but I have 3 dogs and that just would not work :(
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much Phyllis! I am glad that you enjoyed reading my hub.
Have you had any birds as pets? ☺
Sakina, this is a wonderful and very informative article. I so enjoyed reading it. Thank you for sharing Mumu and Lulu. They are so adorable.
- AUTHOR
Aww! Thank you so much for the kind comment DrMark. ☺ Yeah, sure do!
I read through this again and really enjoyed it. I am not sure if I can find a mate for my lovebird but now I am tempted to go out and find a girlfriend for my Pionus.
- AUTHOR
Oh Sure! Thanks for sharing your experience with me Glenn. ☺
Sakina, That would explain it too. Even if my sister didn't touch them, I do recall that we never covered the cage, except at night as we usually did. But not all day while the eggs were there. This incident was back in the early 1960s. When I next talk to my sister I'll ask her if she remembers. At this time I don't have any birds or any pets any more. I had many different animals as pets when I was growing up. I even bread tropical fish.
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much Hamza! ☺ I am glad you loved it!
- AUTHOR
@Glenn
Do you have any pet birds currently? ☺
- AUTHOR
@Hatim Thank you so much for your appreciation! ☺
@Ashish Thank you so much, I am very happy about it! God bless you too! ☺
@Glenn Oh! If your sister had touched them, that could be the reason your finch destroyed her eggs. If she didn't, may be she rejected them. Did you always see her again and again at that time? It's best to give egg-laying females privacy and keep them covered; placing them in a dark and quiet room. They don't like anyone "poking around" their stuff.
Sakina, You gave me something to think about, in your prior comment to me, that I never considered. I remember that my sister thought I placed fake eggs in the nest in her cage. So maybe it's possible that my sister touched the eggs to check them.
As you explained, that could be a reason why my Finch destroyed them. I'll have to ask my sister if she touched them, but she probably won't remember since this was almost 50 years ago.
To answer your other question: My Finch started poking holes in the eggs. Then she proceeded to eat the yolk. I really don't remember how long it's been, but could've been three weeks. I think the eggs would normally hatch in 21 days. That's why I was thinking, at the time, that she knew they wouldn't hatch after the normal incubation period had elapsed.
@Sakina
Congratulations my dear friend for being chosen for PetHelful :)
Happy Hubbing :)
Bless you :)
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback Glenn! ☺
Oh! That's new...I never heard that before. I guess she knew her eggs wouldn't hatch. Did she break them?
Birds are very picky. They reject their eggs (even with babies), when humans cause disturbance. They need their time and privacy. Was she alone or did she have a mate?
Very well done article and very complete with great examples of your personal experience. It was enjoyable reading and the pictures of your birds are beautiful.
I had a finch that laid eggs one time but the eggs never hatched, and after a couple of weeks she actually started eating them. That was an interesting experience. I guess she knew that they were not going to hatch after two weeks.
@Sakina,
Awwwwww I am glad to hear that my words are spreading smile on someone's face :)
Keep Smiling Sakina :)
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much my friend Ashish! ☺ Your compliments always leave a smile on my face. God bless you too dear.
@Sakina,
Awwwww that's wonderful love story of Mumu and Lulu :)
Very nicely written hub. I liked the way you have waved the love story of Mumu and Lulu.
Very good utilization of photos and videos.
Bless You.
Regards,
Ashish
- AUTHOR
They are indeed! Alhamdolillah. Thank you for commenting Petlawad. ☺
Beautiful article. Beautiful birds.
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much for commenting Yanisha! ☺
Masha Allah :* mumu and lulu are so adorable.... and it looks like some "hatred turned love" story :P
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much Hussain! ☺
They are so adorable! Amazing article!
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much Jodah! ☺
Cute birds.
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much Samitha! ☺
They are soo Cute ❤
Amazing article ❤❤❤
Loved it
- AUTHOR
Thank you so much sister! ☺
Such a beautiful article! They r adorable
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