Program: Africa Lovebird Conservation
Wild lovebirds are found throughout central and south Africa in mainly savanna and dry forest terrain. There are nine species of lovebird; eight in Africa and one in Madagascar.
Many lovebird species are threatened by trapping for trade, forest loss and fragmentation, persecution and changes in climate. Some populations such as Lilian's and Black-cheeked Lovebirds number as few as 10,000 in the wild. Other species' status are less known. The changing habitat has driven range expansions and, in combination with trade, has created a number of new contact zones between species that were formerly divided by natural barriers. Hybridisation has been reported, particularly in East Africa. This could have implications for the conservation of the most at-risk lovebirds.
WPT is leading a first-of-its kind program which aims to understand the primary threats to lovebird species, map the birds' habitat, carry out field surveys and install artificial nest boxes for the four 'white eye-ring' species.
Using genetic analysis, the team hopes to determine the processes responsible for past-to-present geographic distributions of different lineages to understand their taxonomy, discover the effects of population fragmentation and climate change, and find out the extent of hybridisation on wild populations.
Make a diffence in the lives of parrots.
![A wild Lilian's Lovebird perches in a tree © Nik Borrow [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr](https://gt2024.parrots.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Lilians-Lovebird-c-Nik-Borrow-CC-BY-NC-2.0-via-Flickr.jpg "A wild Lilian’s Lovebird perches in a tree © Nik Borrow [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr")
Find out what projects the World Parrot Trust is supporting for African Lovebird Conservation
