Yellow-collared Lovebird

Tarangire National Park is the best location on the northern circuit. The park's baobab woodland and acacia savannah provide ideal habitat and sightings are reliable year round. Lake Manyara and parts of the Serengeti also hold populations. They are a near endemic to Tanzania.

Yes, very nearly. Their natural range is restricted to the interior of Tanzania and a small strip of central Kenya. Tanzania holds the vast majority of the wild population. Seeing them on a northern circuit safari is a genuinely region specific experience that you cannot replicate elsewhere.

The name comes from the extremely strong pair bonds between mates. Mated pairs sit pressed together for long periods, preen each other constantly, and share food. The bonding behaviour is visible and distinctive. They are among the most demonstratively affectionate birds in the world.

Their diet is primarily seeds, especially grass seeds and acacia seeds, supplemented with small fruits and occasional insects. They feed in noisy flocks that descend on seeding grasses and acacia canopies. A feeding flock in roadside vegetation can often be watched from the vehicle at very close range.

They are small parrots, roughly 14 centimetres long and weighing around 50 grams. What they lack in size they make up in colour and personality. Their bright green plumage, yellow collar, dark head and red beak make them one of the most visually striking small birds on a Tanzania safari.

If your itinerary includes Tarangire then sightings are very likely on any visit. They are resident year round and active throughout the day. Outside Tarangire they are patchier but still possible in the right woodland habitat. Legend Expeditions guides know the reliable sites.