Species profile
About the yellow-collared lovebird
Also called the masked lovebird, this Tanzanian endemic wears a dark chocolate-brown head, a broad clean yellow collar across the breast and nape, and a green body, with a red bill and a wide white eye-ring.
Its natural range is the dry central plateau, and Tarangire is the reliable park for it: noisy little flocks fly between baobabs and acacias, and birds nest in tree hollows and the crevices of baobab trunks. Like Fischer's lovebird it drinks daily and can be found at waterholes each morning.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Fast, direct flight in small noisy flocks. Feeds on seeds on the ground and in grass, and roosts communally in tree cavities.
Social life
Gregarious and strongly pair-bonded; pairs perch touching and preen each other for long periods.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
Endemic to Tanzania, and one of the few lovebirds whose natural range lies almost entirely within one country.
