How to Tell the Sex of a Lovebird

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Learn the difference between male and female lovebird sexes
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Whether you want to find the perfect name for your lovebird, or are trying to breed them (or keep them from breeding), you’re probably interested in finding out their sex. The short answer is that the only way to know for sure is to have a DNA test or sexing surgery done, or witness her laying eggs. Otherwise, lovebirds are monomorphic, meaning they share physical features between sexes. That said, we’ll explain the definitive ways to find your bird’s sex, offer plenty of helpful other clues, and clear up common misconceptions about sexing lovebirds.

Quick Guide to Sexing Lovebirds

Since lovebirds have no physical differences between sexes, the only conclusive way to sex a lovebird is to get a DNA test or surgical sexing procedure done, or to witness her laying eggs. Otherwise, a wide pelvis or shredding and nesting behavior may indicate a female.

Section 1 of 3:

Foolproof Ways to Sex a Lovebird

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  1. The best and most conclusive way to find out a lovebird's sex is to get a blood test done. Your bird's DNA will be examined in a lab and you will have a conclusive answer as to the sex of the bird. [1] Ask your veterinarian do perform a DNA test, if possible.
    • Or, use an online sexing service such as iQ Bird Testing . With these, the sexing lab will send you a kit to take a DNA sample, and the sample is then mailed back to the lab. After a few weeks, they’ll contact you with the results.
  2. Ask your veterinarian if they perform surgical sexing. With this procedure, the bird is put under anesthesia, a small incision is made in their abdomen, and the veterinarian inspects their reproductive organs. This is an invasive procedure that is not usually suggested for pet birds. Instead, it is predominantly used by bird breeders. [2]
    • Surgical sexing is usually cheaper than DNA sexing but has many more downsides, such as the risk of illness and death associated with surgery.
    • Once a bird is surgically sexed, a tattoo is usually applied to the bird to permanently mark it as male or female.
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  3. Only female birds lay eggs, so if you witness your bird laying, there’s your answer! That said, lovebirds in captivity largely shouldn’t lay eggs for health reasons (or unless you’re using them as a breeding pair ), as it can be a great source of stress. If you do spot eggs in your bird’s cage, consult a veterinarian about how to discourage the behavior. [3]
    • Female lovebirds can lay infertile eggs even without a mate.
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Section 2 of 3:

Physical & Behavioral Clues

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  1. Feeling the distance between the pelvic bones can give you the most educated guess without lab procedures. Gently hold your bird on their back and lightly press on their vent area, or the area where their tail connects to their body, feeling for 2 bumps, which are the bird’s pelvis. Then consider: [4]
    • Female lovebirds need more width in the pelvic region in order to pass eggs through it, which means that if your bird’s “bumps” are farther apart than others’, they may be female.
    • Because of this, female lovebirds may also have a generally wider stance than male lovebirds.
    • This method requires comparison with 2-3 other lovebirds, plus a little practice. Even then, it’s not a surefire way to tell the sex.
  2. Many speculate that female lovebirds typically weigh more than their male counterparts. Of course, just because a bird weighs more than another doesn’t mean it’s male or female—for example, it may just be a heavy male. That said, if your lovebird weighs more than 40–60 g (0.088–0.132 lb), that means it’s heavier than most, and may be female. [5]
  3. Only 3 species of lovebird are dimorphic, meaning that males and females have different physical characteristics. These are Madagascar (gray-headed) lovebirds, Abyssinian (black-winged), and red-headed lovebirds, none of which are often kept as pets. If do keep these as pets though, consider the following:
    • In Madagascar lovebirds, the female has a greener head, neck and breast, while the male has more gray plumage in these areas. [6]
    • In Abyssinian lovebirds, males have a prominent red forehead and black wing feathers, while females have smaller areas of red on their foreheads and mostly green wing feathers. [7]
    • In red-headed lovebirds, males have a large red patch of feathers on their face, while females’ faces are more orange. [8]
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Section 3 of 3:

Avoiding Common Sexing Mistakes

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  1. In general, when lovebirds are interested in mating, they tend to shred paper, whether they are male or female. This seems to be true across species, with Fischer's and peach-faced lovebirds, for example, exhibiting the same behavior regardless of sex. [9]
    • Some argue that female birds are “better” at paper-shredding, and more often tuck shreds into their feathers to take to a nest, though males may also show this behavior.
  2. If lovebirds are kept in a pair, they tend to form an intense bond, no matter the sex of either bird. [10] Birds kept together will become a unit, and bonded pairs of the same sex are even known to work on nesting together. [11]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://watchbird-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/watchbird/index.php/watchbird/article/view/1393
      2. ↑ http://www.scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/Protocol%20Surgical%20Sexing.pdf
      3. ↑ https://mickaboo.org/resources/discouraging-egg-laying
      4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIJcJ4gqa0c&t=52s
      5. ↑ https://www.birdexoticsvet.com.au/factsheets/2020/6/6/choosing-a-lovebird
      6. ↑ https://www.parrots.org/encyclopedia/grey-headed-lovebird
      7. ↑ https://www.parrots.org/encyclopedia/black-winged-lovebird
      8. ↑ https://ebird.org/species/rehlov1
      9. ↑ https://watchbird-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/watchbird/index.php/watchbird/article/view/1393
      1. ↑ https://watchbird-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/watchbird/index.php/watchbird/article/view/1569
      2. ↑ http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/lovebirds-general/887

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      The best and most conclusive way to find out a lovebird's sex is to get a blood testing kit, which you can buy online. If you want to examine the bird yourself, hold it upside down in your non-dominant hand with its head pointing away from you. Next, use the fingers of your dominant hand to gently feel the pelvic bones through the feathers and skin. Since females need wider pelvic regions to pass eggs, you can compare the pelvises of several birds to figure out which ones are female. To learn more about using blood testing kits, read on!

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