Red-headed Lovebird

About the Red-headed Lovebird

The red-headed lovebird (Agapornis pullarius), also known as the red-faced lovebird, is a member of the genus Agapornis, a group commonly known as lovebirds. Like other lovebirds, it is native to Africa. The red-headed lovebird was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus pullarius. The type locality is Ghana. The red-headed lovebird is now one of nine species placed in the genus Agapornis that was introduced in 1836 by the English naturalist Prideaux John Selby. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ἀγάπη agápē meaning "love" and ὄρνις órnis meaning "bird". The specific epithet pullārius is from Latin and means "of young birds" (pullus means "chick").

Two subspecies are recognised: A. p. pullarius (Linnaeus, 1758) – Guinea and Sierra Leone to Sudan, DR Congo and Angola A. p. ugandae Neumann, 1908 – west Ethiopia to east DR Congo and northwest Tanzania The red-headed lovebird is a 15 cm (6 inches) long, mostly green parrot. It has a well demarcated red area on its head extending... Wikipedia →