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Hi guys
I was just browsing throught the net and saw some pics of lovebird pairs where one was a masked lovebird and other was blue whiteface peachfaced lovebird. Is it ppossible to breed these two and would the babies be fertile?

Regards
Melson.L

No and no. Peachfaced and Masked are 2 separate and distinct species of lovebird and should never be paired together for breeding. Any resulting offspring would be hybrids that are incapable of breeding. Different eye-ring species have been bred together and those offspring are capable of having babies. Blue Fischer's is an example of one such hybridization. Intentional hybridization should be left to breeders who are doing it with a particular end in mind rather than breeders who are just pairing birds together to produce more babies.

Would these hybrid babies (if produced by that pairing) have any chance of birth defects or health problems because they would be sterile hybrid birds? If not, then I see no problems producing sterile hybrids, unless there are some problems that I am not aware of. Always willing to learn.

Each species of lovebird has its own personality traits. By pairing different species, each parent contributes to the genetic make up of the babies. Since hybrids are not all one species nor all of the other, they can inherit traits that can confuse them when it comes to their identities. For instance, Peachfaced hens tuck nesting material in their rump feathering to carry it to the nesting site. Eye-ring species carry the the material in their beaks. I was reading a study done on this kind of hybrid and the hens were confused as to how to go about building their nests. Granted, they are incapable of reproducing, but they still go through the motions.

Not only that, but hybridization removes birds from the breedable gene pool. Breeders of some of the rare species have found that they have to go to imported birds for new bloodlines because there just are none available in the country where they reside. It's been almost 20 yrs since the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (in the US) stopped most importation and we are finally beginning to feel the effects of that legislation. Pretty much, you can't breed what you don't have.