How to know if you have a male or female Lovebird

Knowing if you have a male or female lovebird is essential when it comes to raising it properly. In addition to helping you choose the name of your ‘ inseparable ‘ pet, it is important to know the sex of your bird for health or behavioral matters.

To determine whether it is a male or female Lovebird, you can watch some physical or behavioral aspects. In any case, the most effective is through sexing by DNA, since it is a species of bird that hardly has sexual dimorphism.

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Three ways to know if you have a male or female Lovebird

1 | Sexing for DNA to know whether it is male or female lovebirds

You can use a sample of your bird’s DNA to check if you have a male or female lovebird. Nowadays, this molecular method is the most effective and economically affordable. It is important to take care of the hygiene of the sample since the analysis may be more accurate.

2 | Physical aspects that make possible to differentiate male and female lovebirds

There are some species of ‘ inseparable ‘ that present a clear sexual dimorphism, but the species that are usually kept at the home are more complicated to differentiate. However, there are small physical details that can help us out of doubt:

Different sizes: It is usually believed that males are larger, but this is a frequent error. The point is that they acquire a peculiar posture when they are on the perches they seem to widen.

Head shape: Males present a less rounded head than females.

Eye ring: In some species of lovebirds such as the Personata or the Fischeri, the female has a thicker ring compared to its male companion.

Beak: The shape of the beak of females is larger and wider than males.

The technique of palpation of pelvic bones: The females present the bones of the pelvis slightly more separated than the male. The problem is that it begins to be noticed when it lays its first egg, until that moment, it will not separate the bones.

Lovebird with its closed eyes. Photo property: Rebecca Partington

3 | Habits and behaviors

Behavior can also be an indicative element whether you have a male or female lovebird at home. For example, while males are more affable and less fearful, females have a more aggressive and territorial attitude.

Lovebirds are very jealous birds like parrots. If a third member is introduced close to a couple, the female will likely reject it from the first moment.

The male Lovebird is ready to look for food. The female, meanwhile, takes care of the nest and build it based on branches and leaves. During the breeding period, the female will leave a few times from the nest because it has to incubate. On the other hand, the male will move away from the nest and alight at a greater distance.

In case you have them caged, you must provide them a nest. Otherwise, they will not raise, which is a clue less when it comes to knowing the gender of each one. The female will lay eggs if they fertilize or not.

If it is just a zeal egg, you can doubt whether you have a pair of male or female Lovebirds. However, if the egg breaks in a calf, you will clearly have the two genera. Finally, if more than 8-9 eggs are born in a very short time, you may have two females.

In summary, although there are some subtle methods to find out the genre of your Lovebird, if you do not want to make a mistake, the best choice would be to request a sample-based analysis.

Remember that in BBI Laboratories we specialize in DNA sexing and bird disease detection. You can also follow us on our main social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) where we share relevant information about our activity and the world of birds.