Newbie to the Lovie world here!!!

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Hi there I just wanted to say hi to everyone here in Lovie Land! I have been reading the forums on here for a couple days now and I was so excited to register. I have my very first Lovie! I got it when it was 7 weeks and hand fed (or that's what the lady told me when I got it) He or she is now 3 1/2 months old. All she told me was the it was a masked lovebird. Me not knowing to ask if its a black masked or black cheeked. I have to figure out how to load the pic of him or her. I named it Lenny or Lenni. Maybe you guys can help me to figure out how or if I can figure out if its a male or female without waiting for eggs or something. Or even if indeed it a black masked or black cheeked. Thank you all in advance!

And I have to say now that ALL of the pictures of all the different birds you guys own on here are beautiful!

[mask]

Upload an image to a website like photobucket or imageshack, then copy the [img]..[/img] code next to the photo and paste it into your post on the forum.

welcome!

[Konkata]

Welcome to the forum! I bet your lovie will add a great addition to our collection of rainbow forum birds!

[~Lovie Lenny~]

I hope this worked, we will see!
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[Anfsurfer]

Welcome to the board! Lenny is very beautiful.

[Konkata]

haha Lenny is so adorable! I love the pic where he was stretching towards the camera like "Oh hai! Wuzzat?"

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Thank you all very much! Now he might be too young to tell but I dont know if he or she is a black masked or a black cheeked lovie? Anyone know? I tried looking at that African lovebird website, but I not really sure.

[Konkata]

Looks like a black cheek to me, but I'm not at all an expert. I'm on the website as well and it appears as though the black masked lovebirds have a dark hood and the black cuts off suddenly, where the darkness on the black cheeks tends to blend and lighten up before it hits the neck area.

Black Cheeked:


Black Masked:


Lenny is still young though and hasn't gone through the adult moult though. I think we'll know more when he moults.

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Ok sounds good. I do have another question, I know a lovie can get gruchy when not getting enough dark sleep time. But how long does it take before the right sleep times take affect and is no longer gruchy? Cause Lenny still is sweet but can have times where he lunges at my finger or when I give him kisses, he would lunge at my lips.

[Konkata]

Lenny just might be a female if thats the case

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Because it lunges at me? I thought it did that because it wasnt getting enough dark sleep?Well I did name it Lenny for a reason, that way if it does turn out to be a girl, then I can spell her name Lenni! Hehehe

[mask]

Nice looking bird

Not sure on the whole black-cheeked or masked thing, the colours are quite different in the photos...

This is a black cheeked:



This is a masked:



You bird has the green rump of the black-cheeked. The back of the head is olive and the cheeks are black, just like a black-cheeked.

The top of the head/brow should be a rusty-brown in black cheeked, but I don't see that in yours. The beak of a black cheeked is almost two tone, from a off-white fading into red. Your birds seems all red, like a masked.

Black-cheeked have the salmon coloured patch on the chest, whereas masked have the yellow chest that expands all around the neck/collar. Your birds appears to have a bit of both.

It may just be the light in the photo's, but from what I see it looks to be a masked x black-cheeked hybrid.

[Konkata]

Nice deduction, Mask! I was leaning towards black cheek because he had the small patch of orange under the chin and the black around his face didn't stretch all the way to the nape, but I did notice some black masked characteristics as well which is why, I'm sure, Ashleys confused. Would it be possible that the coloring isn't what it should be because Lenny is a juvenile yet and hasn't moulted?

[mask]

One other thing that distinguishes black-cheeked is their build and posture. They are quite smaller, with a small round head and more 'neck'. They tend to be slimmer and have a tall stance, unlike masked who are quite bulky with a shorter, wider stance in general.

It may be the camera/light producing the colours in the photo's, it's not easy to tell at all really. I'm guessing the bird is young aswell, but don't think it will change into one or the other species when it moults. From the front it looks totally masked. From the rear it looks black-cheeked.

EDIT: After another look I change my mind! I would say it's got fischers in it's blood somewhere down the line. That makes more sense as fischers are much more common than black cheeked. That would also explain the olive colouring to the back of the neck/head and the rump colour. Lenny can be classed as a green masked, his colours will improve at about 12-18 months. He's not pure masked, but then not many are these days anyway.

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Here are some more pic of Lenny. These are from this morning, the ones before were at night.
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[Skittles]

Oh he's so stinkin' cute!!!

Looking at the two photos Mask posted, he does look like a Hybrid. Regardless though, HE'S CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mask]

He's a masked for sure now lol!

I can see the violet in the rump now, it looked green on the first photos!?

The orange on the chest is not from a black-cheeked, it's just suffusion, that will moult away leaving a yellow breast and neck. The back of the head is a darker yellow, which is normal for a masked ... it looked olive coloured in the first photos!?

Just shows how deceiving photos can be!

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Thank you Lauren and Mask! Its 3 1/2 months old now, when should I expect it to moult? Is there any way to tell if its a male or female without paying for the test?

[mask]

The first moult should happen any time now, around 4 months old. It's not a full moult. The first full moult happens when they are about 12 months old.

I can usually sex them by stance and build, but until the bird is at least 6-8 months old, it's next to impossible.

[~Lovie Lenny~]

Oh ok got cha. Thank you for the info.