Choosing A Parrot Species

[Jessica M]

Well here are the birds i looked at

Galah's (Rose breasted cockatoo)
African gray's
Conures
Quaker Parrots (Monk Parakeet) - it's legal in my state to own them
Senegal's
Meyers
Ringneck's
Mustached parakeets
Lorikeets
Amazons
pionus
Caiques

Am i missing any?

As you can see most of the birds i looked into are around the size of Conures except for the Amazons,Gray's,and Galah.I liked the Galah until i saw the price tag yea they are good birds but a lot of work for a 16 year old,same thing with the Grey's and Amazons so i scratched them off my list.

I liked the fact that the Conures have many different coloration,some are loud and some are quieter,some are good cuddlier's,and are very playful - but they don't really talk.

Good talkers:
Ringnecks,Mustached parakeets,Senegal's,Quaker parrots,Meyers,and Pionus

Playful: Caiques,Conures,Lorikeets,Quakers well their all pretty clownish

Will you help me decide?
So far i have only had 3 Parrotlets

What im looking for in a bird
Cuddlier,Friendly,Brave,good talker when i mean by that is that it's not hard to understand them i know a bird is not guaranteed to talk.Playful,happy go lucky just an all around good bird.

Do you know any birds like that?

[Jenny]

one of our members runs a website you might find helpful in making your decision. Check out the "What is the best pet bird for you" quiz link on the left of the page.

http://www.all-pet-birds.com/

[zazanomore]

My vote is on a conure.

And just curious, why aren't cockatiels on the list of considered parrots?

[Jessica M]

Because i want something a little more hardier,and something bigger

[gizmo101]

if u want something hardier a cockateil is fine they arnt that big but they r playful nd can be laod they r also abit distructive. so dont bump them off ur list till u have looked around or maybe played with a few.

[Jessica M]

Yea i know but their just not the type of bird im looking for,their more of a first bird and i plan to work my way up i all ready has a first bird type which was a Parrotlet and now i want something bigger,with more of a talking ability i don't mind the screaming of larger birds but i think im going to stick with the plan i originally intended for now i'll stick with the Quaker.I have wanted one since i was in Second grade and i still haven't got one yet so i plan to stick with my decision.

[Kathleen]

I've seen some videos online of Quaker Parrots talking. Maybe take a look on youtube. They seem to have a squeaky kind of "voice". They are a bit loud. One thing you should know, if you haven't read about it already, is that they like to gather any little "supplies" that they can find and build a nest, so a Quaker might start doing that with toys or any little objects that it can gather around your house. Otherwise, they seem very playful and active, they seem like good flyers, and they are very capable of being taught tricks. I've handled a few young ones and they were cuddly and so soft to pet. They were a little bitey but I'm certain that can be minimized with some training, patience and cautiousness.

Get a book about Quakers and continue to research. Contact some Quaker Parrot breeders in your area. Good luck!

[TheNzJessie]

im voting lorikeet. (rainbow variety) but i may just be bias a little there are different type of lorikeets. my favorite is the scaley lorikeet, there are also musk lorikeets and red collar lorikeets.


rainbow lorikeets are the largests with musk red collar and scaley being all around the same size as each other. rec collars is exactly like a rianbow lorikeet but slightly smaller and has a red collar instead of a green collar. scaleys are full green with marking that look like scales and musks look like there wearing a red cap