Often forage on the ground in small groups of a dozen or so. Breeding is colonial. Unpaired birds seek out the company of other unpaired bird and attempt to preen them. They quickly discover if they are compatible and, if they are, they establish life-long pairs. When they reach sexual maturity the male courts the female who is often aggressive towards him.
Courtship feeding takes place in which the male feeds the female regurgitated food.
The nest is a hole in a tree, in a cavity in a building or among the bases of palm fronds. Inside the cavity the birds build a bulky dome-shaped nest entered through a tunnel made of long twigs or strips of bark carried by the female in her bill, one piece at a time She lays 8 to 10 eggs. Incubation is 23 days and the young leave the nest 38 days after hatching. Lovebirds have powerful bills which enable them to crack seeds and strip bark for nesting material. Lovebirds are noted for their close pair bonds.