Diet and foraging behavior of the Abyssinian Lovebird (Agapornis taranta Stanley, 1814) in Tigray National Regional State, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Modification of an animals' natural habitat can lead to either a shift in the foraging choice and/or local extinction. Whilst avian species feeding ecology and foraging behavior has been the subject of many studies, a few studies have examined the diet and foraging behavior of African Lovebirds of the genus Agapornis. So, the main objective of this study was to investigate the diet and foraging behavior of the Abyssinian Lovebird (Agapornis taranta) in Degu’a Tembien district of Tigray National Regional State, Ethiopia. Based on 108 field observations conducted during dry season of years 2017–2018, a total of 1010 foraging individuals were recorded. Out of these observations, 32.5% were feeding associations with other birds. Most foraging flocks comprised only lovebirds (67.5% of feeding observation). Feeding associations with 22 other bird species recorded were either terrestrial or arboreal. Abyssinian Lovebirds had a varied diet consisting of fruits, seeds, and leaf/buds. In general, fruits constituted the largest component (39.4% of feeding observations) of their diet, followed by seeds (36.4% of feeding observations). Although feeding associations and foraging varied significantly between the two habitat types, foraging behavior was related to the availability of food items in these habitats. As Abyssinian Lovebirds are adaptable and have a wide-ranging diet, this likely contributes to their persistence and population growth in a variety of agro-ecosystems from Somali-Masai to Afromontane habitats. Thus, increasing the availability of fruit bearing plants could increase the number of Abyssinian Lovebirds.