What we can learn from lovebirds, the rare birds that mate for life

PHOENIX (AP) — Minutes after getting to a park in the middle of Phoenix, you can see flashes of green in the sky and hear chatter because love is in the air — or at least, the lovebirds are.

The small parrots are transplants from the other side of the world that are thought to be descendants of pet birds. Arizona is believed to be home to the largest colony of rosy-faced lovebirds outside southwestern Africa. They've been able to survive in a place known for sweltering weather by sticking close to humans and their air conditioning.

The lovebirds may have something to teach humans this Valentine's Day about keeping strong romantic bonds.

How did African lovebirds end up in Phoenix?

Rosy-faced lovebirds are originally from another arid region, the Namib Desert, which stretches from Angola, across Namibia and into South Africa. They are one of nine species of lovebirds.

Around the world, lovebirds are a popular pet. No one knows for sure how the lovebird colony started in Phoenix but they were first noticed around the city in the 1980s.

Some think pet lovebirds escaped or were let loose by their owners or escaped from a pet store, said Robert Carter, a volunteer for the Maricopa Bird Alliance who leads bird walks in the Phoenix area. Others have speculated that they could have flown all the way to Arizona but Carter thinks in that case, they would've found another arid area to stay along the way. The population has grown to an estimated 2,000 birds in Phoenix today, he said.

They can be seen sticking their heads out of the holes in cactus and palm trees that they roost in. They're also known to hang out near air conditioning vents on really hot days to at least be a little less hot, including at Arizona State University's science building.

While Carter thinks they should have been left in Africa, he admires their adaptability.

“They definitely show a sense of resilience to the situation that they're in," he said.

While Phoenix's lovebirds are believed to be the largest, most firmly established colony outside of Africa, there are also fairly well-established colonies of rosy-faced lovebirds in parts of Hawaii — on the Big Island and in Maui, said Kenn Kaufman, field editor for Audubon magazine who has written about lovebirds.

Another kind of lovebird, the Fischer's lovebird, appear to have established a small colony on the southern coast of Portugal, he said.

How did the birds get their name?

Lovebirds earned their name because of their tendency to form lifelong bonds with their mates, who like to perch close together, almost like they're cuddling. While many parrots mate for life, fewer than half of bird species do, Kaufman said.

While genetic testing has revealed that birds considered “socially monogamous” sometimes also breed with other birds while raising their young with their mate, lovebirds are not known to stray. They often clean their mate's feathers, especially the hard-to-reach ones, and feed one another food throughout their lives, not just when they are courting, like some other birds, Kaufman said.

People who have kept lovebirds as pets report that their mate seems depressed when they lose their partner by not being active or making abnormal calls, said Dr. Stephanie Lamb, associate veterinarian and bird specialist at the Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital.

How do parrots display affection?

Even when they are with other birds, lovebirds are not afraid to engage in some PDA — or as Kaufman says, “parrot display of affection." They pass food to each other with their beaks, which often looks like kissing, he said.

But the reality might strike people as not so cute: the food they're exchanging is regurgitated.

“It wouldn't be quite so romantic if humans were doing it,” he said.

All that care and attention helps keep their bonds strong over their long lives, he said. They live about 20 years, less than bigger parrots but longer than smaller songbirds, he said.

Still, Lamb said lovebirds, like other parrots, can sometimes be violent with each other, screaming and pecking one another with beaks powerful enough to crack open seeds. Sometimes they have to sit at opposite ends of their cage for a bit, until one comes over and nudges their way back into a cuddle, she said.

“Then everything's good," she said. ___ Slevin reported from Denver.