Animal-World > Birds > Lovebirds > Lutino Lovebird

Lutino LovebirdLutino Peach-faced Lovebird

Family: Psittacidae

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Pair of Lutino LovebirdsAgapornis roseicollisPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

     The Lutino Peach-faced Lovebird, with it's golden yellow plumage and it's peachie face, is said by many to be the most beautiful of all lovebirds!

     The most popular mutation of Peach-faced Lovebird is the Lutino Lovebird, followed closely in popularity by the beautiful Dutch Blue Lovebird. Both of these birds have all the wonderful charm and characteristics of the Peach-faced, being active, playful, and amusing. They are intelligent little birds and make a wonderful companion and friend.

     The Lutino Lovebird makes a great beginner bird as they are relatively hardy, easy to care for, and will readily breed. A hand-raised Lutino Lovebird is an incredibly affectionate and fun companion. As they are quite intelligent and aware, even an untamed lovebird will watch it's caretaker with curiosity and readily interact. They are also very brave little birds, and like a child, much be supervised carefully when out of their cage to make sure they don't get themselves into trouble.

     The Lutino Lovebirds are very social and love companionship. Their natural behavior is to live closely with a companion so are often kept with another lovebird. Though they make a very fine and affectionate pet when hand-raised, they will need a lot of attention if kept singly. Most are kept in pairs to satisfy their considerable need for constant companionship, mutual preening, and socialization.

For more information and the care of Lovebirds see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Lovebird

Scientific Name: Agapornis roseicollis var.

Description:      The Lutino Lovebird, a particularly striking bird with an overall yellow coloring and a bright red face, is a mutation of the Peach-faced Lovebird. The lutino mutation is a sex-linked gene. It acts by removing removing all of the melanin, the dark pigment, from the bird while the pigments of yellow and red are uneffected.      There are two other sex-linked mutations which work to partially remove or dilute the melanin. They are called cinnamon, or sometimes 'fallow'. The darker of the two is the American cinnamon and can be described as a light green. The other is the Australian cinnamon, which is a very light greenish-yellow.

Size - Weight:      The Lutino Lovebird will get up to about 6" - 7" (16 - 18 cm) in length.

Care and feeding:      A roomy cage is required as lovebirds are very active. If you have a tame pet that is kept in a small cage, it needs to be let out for extended periods to fly about. Your pet they will enjoy a variety of seeds, fruits, vegetables, and commercial pellets.      See About Lovebirds: Housing and About Lovebirds: Care and Feeding for more information.

Social Behaviors:      A lovebird is a very social bird with it's companion, and it is generally thought to be essential for their good health and happiness that they be kept in pairs rather than singly. They can, however, be aggressive towards other birds in an aviary setting.

Activities:      Loves to fly, climb, and play. Provide lots of room and lots of toys.

Breeding/Reproduction:      The Lutino Lovebird is excellent for the beginning breeder. These birds will breed well in either colonies or in a single pair, and have the same behaviors as the Peach-faced Lovebird. When you provide them with a nest box, be sure to also provide lots of willow twigs, palm fronds, or other nesting materials as they will build a small nest of their own inside of the nest box. They will carry the nesting materials between their back and rump feathers.      The hen will lay four to five eggs which are incubated for about 23 days. The young fledge (leave the nest) in about 30 to 38 days but will still be dependent until about 43 days. When they become independent, remove the young to their own housing.       See About Lovebirds: Breeding/Reproduction for more information on breeding.

Potential Problems:      This bird has a moderate but metallic shriek and can be somewhat noisy for parts of the day.      See About Lovebirds: Potential Problems for information on illnesses.

Availability:    The Lutino Lovebird is very popular and is readily available.

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Latest Comments
I am about to start making an aviary for my pair of lutino fischer lovebirds! Their names are Bonny(female)and Clyde(male). They are four months old and I'm going to try and breed them. Kurt van Wyk from South Africa. Kurt van Wyk 2007-12-19
Just got a lovebird, it's so loud! It's sweet and easy to hold once she is on your finger, but bites at times. I still need to get a playground outside of the cage to keep her occupied. EB Erica Bruce 2007-10-10
I have a darling and affectionate lutino lovebird. He is friendly with my family when they visit but is quick to retreat to my shoulder because he loves me best. He is friendly with my cockatiel and follows her around but does love to preen too deeply pulling out her feathers. She gets so mad at him and then they chase each other and fight over the feather. Be sure to show your LB how to "go potty" over paper on command. They will pick it up so quickly and seem pleased with themselves. I have three other birds but if you want a bird to love and love you back it is the lutino lovebird. Darlene Finn 2006-04-05
new owner of a latino. 10mos of age. great bird. sometimes she bites Rachel 2006-01-27
The lutino lovebird is the most wonderful, charming, lovable, engaging and amazing pet you could ever have! Our darling little one, "Baby", gave my husband & I more happiness and love than we could ever have imagined. She was such a little character! When she left us on July 31, 2005 she was 17 years and 7 months old! We are very thankful to have had her share our lives for so long and would give anything to have her back with us again. Valerie & Wayne Cameron 2006-01-23
Some of the coolest comments:
Our lutino, Beaker, was hand raised in 1990. He's very sweet and beautiful. He has been known to chew the edges off an expensive paper lampshade and also the gilt off an antique picture frame! After that, we learned our lesson and keep his wings slightly clipped so he will stay on our shoulder. He goes outside with us, loves the garden dirt, goes nuts for fresh raspberries, and screeches shrilly at other birds. He becomes very agitated if we walk away from him. While in the care of a friend, he watched their female bird shred paper for her nest. Now his favorite pasttime is shredding paper, in cage or out! He also lifts the moveable doors on his cage and lets them smash down. This he does over and over w/o giving up as his signal that he wants to come out. It can become quite annoying! One thing: the lovebird DOES NEED COMPANIONSHIP!! He will get sick w/o it; we learned this the hard way. He became neurotic and began chewing his back end, pulling out the feathers until he was bald and raw! We had to love him back to health and now make a point of always touching him and letting him out on our shoulder. We wear a towel clipped with a clothespin to keep our shirt clean, and after he has been loved, he nestles in our neck or under our chin. While on our shoulder he eats our human food and takes frequent drinks of water. He loves a water bath and takes one every day with his cool, fresh water. Joan 2005-10-01
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
I have many african lovebirds but lutinos remains my favourite,and my doubt whether to keep them in colonies or not is also solved, thanks for the information devindrac 2006-01-27
Love your site. Thanks for info on Lutino Peach Faced Lovebirds - My favorites! Laura Toth 2005-10-04

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