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- Bird Species Information -

What are the most important things to consider when selecting the kind of bird you would like to add to your family? Size? Color? Price? Popularity? Ability to hang like a bat :) From species to species, parrots are actually fairly diverse. Although basically physiologically the same, parrots, even those hatched in captivity, tend to have different personality types. The scientific order of Psitticines is made up of many different families of parrots like amazon, macaw, cockatoo, greys, parakeet, and conure - commonly known types. As each of these species evolved in the wild, they developed personality and physical traits that aided in their survival and success. This natural evolutionary process can be compared to the domestic breeding process used with dogs and cats. Orchestrated by humans, dogs or cats are matched for specific traits like speed, gentleness and coat quality. After a relatively short amount of time, a new breed is born. This means that you can, with a little research and personal evaluation, select a bird that will be more naturally suited to your specific lifestyle and personality. Keep in mind that different species of parrots will be more or less physically active, more or less vocal and more or less demanding of your attention. The right bird for you and your family? First, decide how you would ideally like a parrot to fit into your family. Are you looking for a bird that everyone in the family can handle including small children? Will the bird be alone in the home most of the day or are you able to take the bird with you to work and play? Ask yourself: 1) how close and 2) how tolerant are your neighbors? Of course, here we are referring to the scream factor. All parrots vocalize. They have evolved loud voices to communicate with each other through the dense jungle. It is natural for them to vocalize enthusiastically, especially morning and evening. If you live in a home with shared walls, like a condominium or apartment, you can keep the peace with the neighbors by selecting a bird with a small voice. (By the way, small bird does not automatically translate into small voice!) However, it has been our experience that with our feathered companion they tend to bypass their bird noises for talking and chattering in human pleasing tones. If you are looking for a perfect pet bird for your children, check out the Cockatoos and Conures family! They are more likely to be tolerant of young, unsure fingers, they can learn to talk, and they can spend time alone amusing themselves. In fact, their feisty nature and completely oblivious attitude makes them an excellent pet for everyone. Baby birds will eventually grow up! As an important reminder, when you see baby birds , keep in mind that they are babies. Adult versions of the same birds can and do exhibit different behaviors. Hand-raised baby parrots are naturally docile and comically sweet. In other words, that adorable, quiet, angelic baby moluccan cockatoo cradled in your arms at the store, that sweet little cherub who willingly goes to every person who walks into the establishment can grow up into a dramatic, shrieking, one-person maniac. Why? Baby birds are instinctually trusting and care free. Adult birds are controlled dramtaically by the environment they grow up in so with proper care/love, boundary setting and proper nutrition they will grow up as a well balanced, wonderful companion. This is the primary reason we offer the behavior classes, to ensure proper, loving boundary setting so the relationship will grow into a wonderful, loving and respectful relationship. Parrots are Awesome and in our opinion, one of the best companions a person can own! Your wanting to open your home and heart to such an amazing companion is exciting. Carefully choosing the right bird for your lifestyle means a better home for them and a better companion for you. Each species is different from the other and this web page is provided to assist you in determining which pet parrot might be right for you and your family. Determining the "correct" bird for a family situation, lifestyle, and personality may be a difficult decision. Most of the species listed are life time companions so it is important that you make an informed decision. Review the material provided below, research good sources of information like contacting us for discussion. We really care about our young parrots and want them to go to new, loving homes where their owners are well informed. This page was designed to give you some objective information that hopefully will help you know more about the various characteristics of each bird species that we commonly offer for adoption.

Species Comparison Chart
Species	Talking	Loudness	Size	Personality	General Comments
Congo African Grey	Excellent	Quiet, great for apartment and town homes	Medium 12 - 20"	Can be shy in front of strangers	Very Popular and in high demand
Eclectus Parrots	Excellant	Quiet and great for apartment and town homes	Medium	Very inquisitive, very quick learners, easy going and love attention	Very popular and in very high demand
Blue and Gold Macaw	Good	Moderately Loud at Times	Large 20 - 36"	Mild and very even personality	Most popular Macaw due to it's awesome loving and comical personality.
Military Macaw	Good	Moderately Loud at Times	Large	Mild and even personality	Big clowns, love attention and showing off
Scarlet Macaw	Good	Moderately Loud at Times	Large	Extrovert and extremely playful	Most popular in movies for their incredile beauty
Greenwing Macaw	Good	Moderately Loud at Times	Large	Extrovert and extremely playful	Very popular for their loving personalities, gentleness and size
Hahns Mini Macaw	Good	Fairly Quiet	Small 8 - 12"	Extrovert and extremely playful	High energy and love attention
Nobles Mini Macaw	Good	Fairly Quiet	Small	Extrovert extremely playful	Quick to pick up words and love attention
Severe Mini Macaw	Good	Moderately Loud at Times	Medium	Variable with training and the individual bird.	Little clowns
Yellow Collared Macaw	Good	Fairly Quiet	Medium	Mild and even personality	Always working on something
Goffins Cockatoo	Good	Quiet	Medium	Mild and even personality	Little lovers
Ducorps Cockatoo	Good	Quiet	Medium	Mild and even personality	Love attention
Bare Eyed Cockatoo	Good	Quiet	Medium	Mild and even personality	Love attention
Eleanora Cockatoo	Good	Fairly Quiet	Large	Mild and even personality	Love to entertain and not affraid to show off in front of strangers
Citron Crested Cockatoo	Good	Fairly Quiet	Medium	Mild and even personality	Loves attention and not as needy as the Umbrella and Moluccan
Umbrella Cockatoo	Good	Moderately Loud at Times	Large	Extrovert and extremely playful	Love to please their owners and are eager to entertain - they do require lots of attention and a steady schedule
Moluccan Cockatoo	Fair	Fairly Loud at times	Large	Extrovert and extremely playful	They love attention and love to entertain, very popular; however, they require a lot of attention and a steady schedule to maintain happiness
Blue Fronted Amazon	Good - Great	Very talkative at times	Medium	Extrovert, love to talk and play - strong personality	They can make great companions; however, they do require boundary setting early in life
Double Yellow Headed Amazon	Great	Very talkative	Medium	Extrovert, love to talk and play - very strong personality	They can make great companions; however, they do require consistent boundary setting early in life
Yellow Naped Amazon	Excellent (Best talking Amazon)	Very talkative	Medium	Extrovert, love to talk and play - very strong personality and will run the household if allowed	They can make great companions; however, they do require consistent boundary setting early in life - Yellow Naped Amazons tend to have the strongest personalites of all the amazons
Lilac Crowned Amazon	Good	Can be very talkative - also the quietest of all the Amazons	Medium	Extrovert, extremely playful and very loving	They love attention and love to entertain, becoming very popular because of their great personality
Sun Conure	Fair	Fairly Loud at times	Small	Extrovert, extremely playful and very lovable	They are super pretty and very fun to watch do tricks
White-Eared Conure	Fair-Good	Very quite	Small	Extrovert, extremely playful and very lovable	They love attention and love to entertain
Gold-Capped	Fair-Good	Fairly Loud at times	Small	Extrovert and extremely playful and so lovable - the little clowns of the conure world	They love attention and love to entertain, becoming popular - they are so much fun to watch - they do like to make some noise in the morning and in the evening but that is because they are always so happy
Queen of Bavaria Conure	Fair-Good	Fairly Loud at times	Small	Extrovert and extremely playful and the super sweet	Talking about beautiful - these guys are tresured for their superior beauty and lovability - most Conures are lovable but these conures are super lovable - also these Conures are super rare and hard to find - good thing is that we can get you one
White Bellied Caique	Fair-Good	Quite	Small	Super lovable and friendly	Very playful and always on the go - clown of the parrot world
Quaker Parakeet	Good	Fairly Loud at times	Small	Their personalities are always "on"	Quakers are intelligent, comical and engaging birds - they have a wonderful zest for life that is contagious - they are wonderful and very popular companions
Cockatiel	Fair-Good	Moderate	Small	Very playful and love doing things just to get your attention	They love attention and if worked with properly, they aren't extremely demanding
Peach-Face Lovebird	Poor	Fairly Loud at times	Very small	More independent and playful	They can make good companions and overall tend to be more independent than other parrot species
Parrotlet	Fair-Good	Quite	Very, very small	Extrovert and extremely playful	Parrotlets are amazing, intelligent, adaptable, energetic and can become talkers - they are also quite most of the time

 

General Guidelines

Congo African Greys - Very, very intelligent, awesome talkers and fairly quiet. They can create non-human and human sounds perfectly!

Cockatoos - Great lovers, not big talkers (but some can become good talkers) but make great family pets even with households containing small children. Cockatoos are the lap dogs of the bird world.

Caiques - They are relatively new to the avian pet trade, caiques (pronounced "ki-eeks") are quickly making their mark in the world of aviculture and are gaining much-deserved popularity with their bright, festive coloring and playful, active personalities. These cocky, yet clownish little birds are as friendly and outgoing as they are curious, their talking ability has proven to be more than adequate, and their entertaining antics are a welcome delight to any observer. From all appearances, these energetic little beauties possess almost all of the most sought-after traits that are considered desirable in a companion parrot.

Macaws - Great color, good talkers, great entertainers and a wide variety of personalities. Come in all sizes from the large Greenwing to minis only 8 inches high.

Eclectus Parrots - First, they are strikingly beautiful. Eclectus make wonderful pets and have excellent talking abilities. They also love to mimic their favorite sounds, such as microwaves, laughter, opera, and sneezing. They are adventuresome and love to explore new places and people. Ours understand many commands. They are very tidy and can be easily potty trained (yes potty trained). Also, they do not throw their food - in fact they love food. They are generally quiet, non-chewers, non-screamers, and since they live in colonies in the wild, they tend to bond to a family rather than just one person. They produce no feather dust, because they have an oil gland rather than a dust gland for preening. Because of this, one should never see feather dust on the beak of a healthy Eclectus parrot. Instead, its beak should be clean and shiny. Eclectus are very intelligent and focus their eyes on their owner to closely observe every movement. They show interest not only in you but in everyone and everything around them. They love to explore and usually show little fear.

Quakers - Quakers are intelligent, comical and very engaging birds. They have a wonderful zest for life that is contagious. They are always "on", and they never seem to wake up on the wrong side of the perch, so to speak. As far as talking ability, Quakers have an amazing capacity to imitate both sounds and human speech. In a June 1995 article, Bird Talk magazine placed the Quaker Parakeet on its top ten list of the best talking birds. While their speech doesn't equal the quality that is found in African Greys, Eclectus and some of the Amazons, it is definitely good enough to be clearly heard and understood. And the intelligent creatures that they are, they often use their large vocabularies of sounds and words at the most appropriate times.

Conures - Conures are known for their sweet dispositions and playfulness. They love to entertain and are such a joy to watch! Their delightful personalities are always on. Conures can be good "talkers". I have heard cases of just about every species of conure talking. Their "voices" sometimes are not as clear as some of the larger parrots but their owners can always understand what they are saying :)

Cockatiels - Cockatiels are the gentle ambassadors of the bird world. Many aviculturists owe their passion for birds to a pet Cockatiel they owned or encountered in childhood. The Cockatiel is one of the most popular aviary and pet birds in the world and the curiosity and intelligence of this good natured species is well known. A long list of recognized mutations, a hardy constitution, an undemanding nature and an eagerness to please their owners make this a companion that be charished by all. Additionally, some can become very good talkers.

Lovebirds - Lovebirds are pint-sized bundles of joy. They have the full personality of parrots while being easy to house because of their size. Lovebirds are little clowns, playing for hours at a time. They love to hang from toys, spin them around, and dance on your shoulder. Watch out for your buttons! They love to pull them off your shirts! They love to snuggle and preen. Many people believe lovebirds must be kept in pairs. This is simply not true. A single lovebird makes a better pet because it bonds to you rather than to another lovebird. While it is easy to keep a pair of lovebirds tame, if you plan on spending lots of time with your bird you can keep it alone. However, if you work long hours and don't think you'll have a lot of time for your love bird, we recommend you get him a companion. This will keep your lovebirds happy and prevent boredom. It is important to realize that while lovebirds are a small parrot, they have the intelligence and abilities of some of the largest parrots.

Parrotlets - Parrotlets are one of the smallest known Parrots, with attitudes of their larger counterparts. Parrotlets are amazing, intelligent, adaptable, and energetic. It has been reported that they are most closely related to the Amazon Parrot, with an average life-span of more than 20 years. Sexual dimorphism is obvious in all varieties. With proper care and training, Parrotlets make wonderful companions. If you can live with a bright, but young child for 20 or more years, a Parrotlet is for you. Also, they can become good talkers, although they are not as loud as their larger parrot cousins.

Amazons - Amazon parrots are very good at talking and imitating sounds, talents rivaled only by the African Grey Parrot. There has been much debate whether parrots actually were communicating or simply mimicking their owners. Research has clearly shown they are very intelligent and will speak in context: one test subject, Alex, can, for starters, name hundreds of objects, say how many objects are in a tray, identify different colors, and say whether two objects are the same or different. Studies put the intelligence of these feathered companions on the same level as six-year old humans, dolphins and monkeys. Amazons are very energetic, playful, social creatures that crave lots of interaction with their human owners. The best pet birds are hand-raised and have bonded early with human companions. More than other parrot species, Amazons are well known for their strong or often moody characters. They can be, at different times, cuddly, loud, quiet, stubborn, silly, jealous, playfully aggressive or irritable. However, an amzaon with proper boundary setting will make a great companion. They will play and fight with their toys for hours on end, even rolling over on their backs to juggle a ball or play with some string.

Please note that the above details are generalities only: however, in many cases, the exceptions seem to be the norm rather than the "exceptions". As birds live more generations as companions versus out in the wild, they seem to display more talents and characteristics that were otherwise not observed in the "wild caught" species. Overall, if you respect your companion bird(s), love them, chreish them, set proper boundaries, provide proper nutriton and spend the needed time with them and integrate them into your family unit, they will make awesome life long companions!