Kay D's Place Is For The Birds

BLACK MASK LOVEBIRDS

Physical Appearance

Black Masked Lovebirds are 6 inches in length.
Belong to small to middle size parrots.Their heads are black,
back of heads is dark olive, breast and part of chest is yellow,upper body is covered with orange-red feathers

The forehead, lores, cheeks and the part under the bill is brown-black. The back of head is a dirty olive. The breast and one part of throat is yellow. Most of the birds have the upper body covered with orange-red feathers. The body, abdomen and under-tail coverts are yellowish–green. The rump is blue. Under-wing coverts are grey-blue. The tail is green and the outer tail feathers are edged with an orange-yellow band.

These medium- voiced parrots are characterizied by their mild temper and tranquility. The younger parrots are easier to tame. The older birds gain trust easily and thus overcome their fear of humans. In a cage of medium size, the birds can be put together in pairs or on their
own. Taming is easier if the birds are kept alone. There have to be enough rungs in a cage so the birds can move around freely and keep themselves amused.
In winter, it is recommended to give them nests so they can hide somewhere, even though they will not breed.

A female clutches 3-6 eggs, and incubation lasts 20 days. The breeding period lasts 32 days. After birth, they tend to stay with their parents for 14 days after which they can be separated from their parents.

Life span is generally about 15 years or longer.

Black-masked lovebirds are among the most common pet birds worldwide, the second most popular type of lovebirds (after the peach-faces). These tiny parrots are known as lovebirds because of the strong pair bond between mates, which are constantly together - preening, cooing and billing. Given good care, the birds can live 18 to 20 years.

Black-masked lovebirds are small bundles of energy, personality and vitality that are always active, playing with toys or chattering, and interacting with each other or their owners.

Black masks make nice pets for older children who are willing to give them a lot of time and attention. They are most commonly kept in pairs rather than as single birds and are ideal companion birds for people who prefer to watch the antics of a colorful lively pair of birds rather than handle a single bird.

Through the years, several color mutations have been established in captivity and black-masked lovebirds are now available in several colors. Initial mutations were blue-masked lovebirds, whose body was green. Later mutations produced light versions of the blue mask, called the white mask.

Feeding - Housing - Breeding

Feeding
Pelleted diets are available for black-masked lovebirds and provide balanced nutrition in every bite. Black-masked lovebirds should also be offered small mounts of fresh, dark leafy green vegetables, tiny slices of apple, grapes, melons, sprouts or other fresh foods. Boiled eggs or commercial egg food are excellent for young and breeding birds, but be careful not to leave moist foods in the cage too long to avoid contamination.

Housing
Black-masked lovebirds are small, but they are very active and should be given plenty of room to move around their cage. Since lovebirds are typically kept in pairs, purchase a cage at least 50 percent larger than you would think appropriate for a single bird.

The cage should have at least two perches (don't use sandpaper perch covers, as they are very abrasive on the feet). Place one perch near the food and water to allow easy access. Black-masked lovebirds love to swing; they also like playing on a small rope perch. Toys should be supplied to keep the bird busy and he should be introduced to a variety of them at a young age so he is not frightened of them. Single birds also love mirrors and will even court - or spar - with their own image. Other favorite toys include bells, toys with moving parts, and little plastic fake birds, with which they will spar. Black masks also like toys that they can enter: snuggle companions, paper bags, boxes, etc.

Breeding

Black-masked lovebirds are easily bred. The breeding cage should be larger than a single pet cage. A good size is approximately 24 inches long by 20 inches tall by 24 inches wide. A small wooden box – approximately 6 inches by 6 inches by 8 inches - can be mounted at a top corner. Pine shavings can be used as nest material, however black-masked lovebirds like to build a nest inside the box. Many breeders give them woody vines, such as honeysuckle or pieces of palm fronds.

Breeding pairs are often in a hurry to start another clutch of eggs and may abuse the chicks to force them from the nest, plucking or biting them. Such chicks may need to be removed for hand feeding. Hand-feeding newly hatched black-masked lovebirds is very challenging, due to their small size, but if they are left in the nest until two to four weeks old they are easily hand-fed and are delightful babies.

Black-masked lovebirds will breed year-round if allowed to, which will exhaust the hen. After three clutches in a year the nest box should be removed and the birds forced to rest. Reducing the period of daylight to about 10 hours of light daily will help reduce the urge to breed.