Species:      Agapornis taranta taranta
Apperance: They have a deep green body, black flight feathers, a strip of black near the edge of the tail feathers, a red beak,

                   and gray legs. Males have a deep red forehead and lores, and a feathered eye ring.

 

Origin:         Ethiopia; they live in the forests and mountain areas up to 9,000 feet (2.7km)         
Diet:            In the wild, they eat seeds, berries, juniper berries, and figs. They particularly seem to relish the seeds of fresh figs.

                   In captivity, these birds need more fat in the diet than other lovebirds species, which can be supplied with s

                   sunflower seeds. Fresh or dried mission figs should also be fed.

 

Sexual dimorphism: Easy to distinguish sexes once birds have reached around five months of age. Males have red on the lores, forehead, and around t

                               the eyes; females have no red on the face.

 

Breeding: Build nests in the hollows of trees; in captivity, they often like a bare floor in the nest box and hens will spend much time removing any s

               havings placed in the nest box. In these cases, giving them a wooden insert with a concave area for the eggs, much like the ones given t

               to budgerigars, is best. Lay fou or five eggs; incubation lasts for 25 days; young fledge in 50 days.
 As the largest of the genus agapornis, Abbyssinians are sometimes called balck-winged lovebirds. These lovebirds are much more parrotlike in behavior than the other lovebird species. Their chirp is a soft, roughsounding call that is quite different from the calls of the other lovebird species. Hand-fed males can be quite tame, although hens tend to be shy. In fact, if you inspect the nest box, hens will often cower in the corner. Males are much more curious and foward than hens. They tend to breed best when they are separated into pairs and can hear but not see the other pairs. They are known to be very aggressive, so colony breeding is generally avoided. These birds are also notorious for plucking their mates. In the case of one of my pairs, the male likes to denude the head of his hen completely at breeding time; he lets the feathers grow back after the nesting period is over. In the case of another pair, it is the hen who plucks the male's head.
 These birds are still not very common and are rarely seen as pets. However, many breeders are making a concerted effort to increase their numbers in captivity.