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Lutino Lovebird

Lutino Peach-faced Lovebird

Family: PsittacidaePair 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

Geographic Distribution Agapornis roseicollis Data provided by GBIF.org Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae

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.

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS

Lastest Comments on Lutino Lovebird View all 35 comments on Lutino Lovebird Add Your Comment

Nahvi - 2011-09-10 Do Lutino Lovebird speaks and how to make them friendly .... Click For Replies (2) Toby Jungle - 2011-09-10 I have never heard a lovebird speak clearly. I have heard them go helllllllllllloooooo in a real strange way. More I think I thought that they were trying to sound like a human. Making them friendly. Lot depends on if hand fed, wild, parent reared and if they have ever been handled at all. The thing to start is to get them used to you and your voice. You are the King Kong in their kitchen. If you were King Kong and you wanted to make freinds with a human - how would you do it? Slowly. Move slow and talk slowly and whistele or even get a beat going. Sounds can be fun. Put favorite foods outside the cage door or just sit down with them every time you eat. Share your food by putting it in a little flat dish outside their cage door. Mashed potatoes are great. Chicken is good. Scramble eggs are wonderful. Let them get used to eating with you and then start holding special tidbits in your hand so they get used to your hand. Hold you hand out flat and let them get in your hand and get the tidbit. Eventually - just pick them up and hold them to your chest until calm - letting them hear your heat beat. Pet on the top of the head. Now you have it made. So - just go slow and share your food. Then hand them your food. Then hold your food for them. Remember you are King Kong in their kitchen. This takes time - weeks - not years and you have time. Meanwhile, enjoy them and watch them and get used to them and it will take that long for them to get used to you. Pebbles - 2012-01-31 I have heard that some can speak a few words like pretty baby and hello. It all just depends but lovebirds in general are not great talkers. Reply

jcmiller - 2011-10-16 I adopted my lovebird from someone that did not want it anymore. I am trying to get it used to us but every time we get close to the cage or put our hand in it runs to the other side of the cage and starts chirping. It won't have anything to do with us. We have had it a week now. Does anyone have ideas so we can bond with this cute scarred little bird. Click For Replies (1) Pebbles - 2012-01-31 Give him some time and he'll get used to you. What you can do in the mean time is walk over very slowly to the cage and speak to him or her very softly. Make sure your cage is not in a busy area of the house, try to give him a place where he or she can feel more secure. With time and patience your lovebird will come around. Reply

Rakesh B Amudhappa - 2011-03-15 Hi, Am a lover of lutino fisher lovebird, am using small pots as breeding homes for them, is small pots enough for breeding of lutino fischer love birds? Click For Replies (2) taric - 2011-10-07 hi it's taric from tamil nadu hey brother small pots is not enough for lutino hatching and if you think mostly 75% will hatching 1y you choose big pots because its 1y go inside and come back easy. Male lutino is bigger then female. chetan - 2011-12-03 Pots should be big enough for the birds and chicks when they grow up. Put some fine pieces of soft hay or dry grass ,or coconut fibers. Reply

Kaustubh Khopkar - 2011-06-27 Hi. I have a pair of lutinos who have laid 4 eggs twice. The female incubates the eggs for 21 days but then she stops doing the same. I checked the eggs and found two eggs OK. Please suggest if I should change the male or give them one more chance. Click For Replies (3) Charlie Roche - 2011-06-27 When you say you checked two eggs and they were OK are you saying they were fertile? Two eggs were fertile? If two eggs were fertile there would be absolutely no reason to change the male out. He is doing his job. Birds, in the wild have a flock and they learn from the flock. They learn how to mate, incubate, feed the young from the flock. Some of it is instinct (I would guess) but most is learning by seeing what the other memebers of the flock are doing. Without a flock, they have to learn and the first few clutches "are for free". You can't expect the eggs to be fertile. The female may not sit the eggs. They may not feed the babies etc. I had a macaw and every time she laid an egg, he would play soccer with it. You just need to be patient and they will learn. kaustubh Khopkar - 2011-06-28 Hi Thanks for your reply. I had checked the eggs under light and found two eggs with dark patch signifying existance of chick inside. Moreover I have also noticed that the eggs are not warm when i had removed them out which hints that the same are not being hatched properly. All these are just doubts as this is the first time I am breeding African love birds. My idea of changing the male is that he is not feeding the female and hence she feeds herself on her own. Please advise.. Linda Kearschner - 2011-08-29 Hi Just read your question, my question is how old our your love birds, I have found out from experience the female lays eggs but the male has to be at least 3 yrs old for him to fertilize the eggs---------so give them time if they are younger than 3 yrs old that will also give the female time to do her thing also but let me just warn you once they start it is not easy to stop them other than seperating them and they breed often!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reply

Rhonda - 2011-07-25 Hi, I was in my garage and noticed the prettiest yellow and red bird perched on a lil garbage can. I took some pics and took them to the pet store and they told me its a lutino love bird. We got a cage and food, not sure what to do next or what to expect any ideas? Click For Replies (1) Charlie Roche - 2011-07-25 Shall I assume you now have the lovebird in the cage? Look at it this way - the little feathered guy doesn't know what to do either. Talk to him, let him become familiar with the sounds and scents in the home. If you can pick him up just hold him close to your chest so he can hear your heart beat. I have no idea why but it seems to soothe them. If you can't pick him up yet, or are nervous too, start feeding him special treats - hulled sunflower seeds, pieces of grape (peeled), a piece of apple with your hand. Get him used to your hand and then let him out of the cage and still feed him with your hand. He will eventually come to you and you've got it made from there. He will train you. Reply

johny - 2011-05-27 well............ i got lovebirds too, if you have qestions ............................. just ask me...... www.madman.johny@yahoo.com contact me!!!!!!!! Click For Replies (2) Charlie Roche - 2011-05-27 Many have questions about love birds so just stick around. Thank you. Trina Casey - 2011-06-23 Hi I just got my lutino female lovebird last Nov. and she is great. But lately she doesn't like to "step up" on command. She no longer stays close to us (on our shoulder) and only flies around landing when we wiggle our toes. Also she ruffles her feathers alot and preens constantly. We feed her every day and change her water all the time. Also she bobs her head a lot and makes a "panting" sound when she does. I'm just wondering if I should be worried about any of this or if it will pass with more work. Reply

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