Tony and Cleo were named soon after Michael acquired them while they were still quite young, so he had no idea of their sex. Having them sexed would have cost almost as much as the birds themselves. Since they were not bought for breeding purposes, it wasn't thought necessary. They turned out to be two guys. Although they "go through the motions," no eggs have ever been laid. They look almost identical, and the only sure way to tell them apart is to get out the spray bottle. Cleo prefers his bath in a bowl, while Tony becomes ecstatic at being misted. They are not hand tamed, but their quick, acrobatic movements are a lot of fun to watch. They are fed a dry mixture of assorted cereals with some commercial seed mix added, and a mixture of chopped vegetables and fruits in a separate bowl. Whenever we have rice for dinner, we always save some out for the birds. The Fischer's are the most entusiastic of all our birds when it comes to eating rice. Watching them dive into a food dish filled with rice has to be seen to be believed.

FISCHER'S LOVEBIRD. Agapornis fischeri Reichenow. Length to about 15cm. Overall plumage color bright green, face brownish orange, remainder of head a yellowish olive. Upper tail coverts marked pale blue. Tail green marked with yellow and black. White eye ring. Beak red, eyes brown, legs grey. From Northern Tanzania. They feed primarily on seeds on or near the ground. Their call is a typical lovebird shrill twittering.