How to tell the sexes of lovebirds?

[Kefka]

I know you have to get them dna sexed to be absolutely certain but are there any other suttle signs?

I heard female lovebirds will take toilet paper and tissue and try to build a nest with it. My lovebird loves to tear it up into strips then turn the strips into little balls which he just drops out of his mouth afterward and continues to repeat with a new strip. If he doesn't care about the paper except as entertainment does that mean he is male? Thanks for all responses,

[Janie]

The only way to be sure, other than finding an egg (:D) is to have them DNA'd. If a hen is DNA'd as a hen, it's 100% correct but with a male, there is a small percentage (very small) that the DNA is incorrect.

Unfortunately, behavior is not always accurate since some males do shred and tuck and some females take on behavior more like that of a male.

With the eye-ring species, sometimes the shape of the actual eye can tell you if the lovie is male or female.