NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Lilian's Lovebird
Agapornis lilianae Shelley, 1894
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Lilian's Lovebird at South Luangwa Valley National Park, Zambia
Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Lilian's lovebird (Agapornis lilianae), also known as the Nyasa lovebird, is a small African parrot species of the lovebird genus. It is mainly green and has orange on its upper chest and head. It is 13 cm (5 inches) long and is the smallest parrot on mainland Africa. In captivity, it is uncommon and difficult to breed.
Wikipedia contributors, Lilian's lovebird; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:31:29.618150+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Agapornis lilianae Shelley, 1894
- Name authority
- Shelley, 1894
- Common name
- Lilian's Lovebird
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Agapornis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPsittaciformes
- familyPsittaculidae
- genusAgapornis Selby, 1836
- speciesAgapornis lilianae Shelley, 1894
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Agapornis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fischer's LovebirdAgapornis fischeri Reichenow, 1887 | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-headed LovebirdAgapornis canus (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-cheeked LovebirdAgapornis nigrigenis W. L. Sclater, 1906 | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-headed LovebirdAgapornis pullarius (Linnaeus, 1758) | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-winged LovebirdAgapornis taranta (Stanley, 1814) | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-collared LovebirdAgapornis personatus Reichenow, 1887 | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-collared LovebirdAgapornis swindernianus (Kuhl, 1820) | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rosy-faced LovebirdAgapornis roseicollis (Vieillot, 1818) | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177622 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:65MFN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.