Biosecurity Spotters logo

Rosy-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis)

Free-flying rosy-faced lovebirds in Australia should be identified and reported so their presence can be assessed and managed. An overseas assessment rated their documented environmental impact Minor, involving disease detected in native birds.

Key facts

Type: Pest animal, bird.

Native to: Southwestern Africa, including Namibia and southwestern Angola.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, NT.

Other names: Peach-faced lovebird, Rosy-collared lovebird.

Best time to act: Survey around feeding and roosting areas when birds are active, and report confirmed free-flying birds promptly.

Identification

  • A small, stocky parrot, usually about 15 to 18 centimetres long, with a short tail.
  • Adults have a green body, a blue rump and a rosy-pink face and throat.
  • The bill is pale horn-coloured, and a prominent white ring surrounds each eye.
  • Males and females look very similar; young birds are generally duller in colour.
  • Look-alike: Other small green parrots may look similar at a distance, but the combination of a rosy-pink face, blue rump and white eye ring helps identify this species.

Where it lives

In introduced settings it can use settled areas such as parks and gardens, while in its native range it occupies dry open country and woodland.

Why it matters

  • An EICAT assessment classified its documented impact as Minor, with transmission of disease to native species identified as the maximum-impact mechanism.
  • Chlamydia psittaci was detected in rosy-faced lovebirds and native birds in Arizona after a mortality event among lovebirds.
  • Some native birds had crusty lesions on the head, bill or legs, and some were missing parts of the upper or lower bill; no decline in native-bird populations was reported.
  • The species is also known to hybridize with another Agapornis species in captivity.

How it spreads

  • Free-flying birds can originate from escapes or deliberate releases from captivity.
  • They may move in flocks between feeding and roosting areas, so sightings in new locations should be recorded and reported.

Control methods

  • Confirm the identification and record the location, date and number of birds; report the sighting to the relevant state or territory biosecurity agency.
  • Prevent further escapes by keeping captive birds in secure, well-maintained enclosures.
  • Where control is authorised, use targeted humane capture carried out by trained people, with methods appropriate to local requirements and safeguards for non-target wildlife.
  • Check any capture equipment regularly and follow up to assess whether birds remain or new individuals have arrived.

Site hygiene and welfare

  • Avoid direct contact with birds and dried droppings; clean and disinfect capture equipment after use, and avoid carrying droppings or nesting material between sites.
  • Use methods set out in the national model codes of practice and standard operating procedures for the species.
  • Coordinate control with neighbours and the local government biosecurity plan, as isolated effort is quickly undone by reinvasion.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: General biosecurity duty. Not prohibited matter in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Regulated pest animal. It is a regulated pest animal in Victoria. Keeping it is allowed, but releasing it into the wild is prohibited.
  • South Australia: Declared animal. Declared animals have legal restrictions, which can cover keeping, moving, selling and releasing them, and landowners may be required to control them.
  • Western Australia: Declared pest (C1), prohibited. C1 Exclusion: to be kept out of WA, or out of the parts of WA where it is not established. Report any sighting to DPIRD. It must not be brought into WA (prohibited organism).
  • Tasmania: Not a declared pest. Not a declared pest or prohibited matter in Tasmania. Importing animals is still controlled by Biosecurity Tasmania.
  • Northern Territory: Not a declared pest. Not on an NT declared or prohibited list. Check with the NT Government before keeping, moving or releasing it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Northern Territory: Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976 (NT), administered by NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment

Sources