Tanzania - 2020 - Part 3 - Featuring Fischer's Lovebirds

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Fischer’s Lovebirds

The Fischer’s lovebird, a brightly colored small parrot, is endemic to north-central Tanzania. I was surprised to see them in the habitats where we were searching for lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes and wildebeest, but they are found in the grasslands, woodlands, and savannas.

All the photos shown in this blog post except #5 were taken with an Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera, a 300mm f/4 IS PRO lens with 1.4x teleconverter. A 2x teleconverter was used for image #5.

Clicking on images with a horizonal orientation will display a slightly larger version.

Fischer’s Lovebirds have a green back, chest, and wings. The face is orange-red; the beak is red, and the top of the head is olive green.

Fischer’s lovebirds are monogamous and mate for life. Once mated, they spend almost all their time together, touching and preening each other. I discovered that in French, the birds are known as Insepérable de Fischer. Link This link also contains the following paragraph.

“Before a Fischer’s lovebird can enjoy a lifetime of mated bliss, it must find a partner and win their affections. To do this, male lovebirds do a neat little side-shuffle, bobbing their heads and singing to a nearby female. If the lady is impressed, she settles in to watch the show. The male continues his head-bobbing as he sidles up to her and then, in the ultimate romantic gesture, he regurgitates into her mouth.”

Fischer’s lovebirds are cavity nesters. Females lay three to eight eggs. The eggs hatch after 21 to 23 days of incubation. Fledglings become independent four and half weeks after hatching.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.