Pajarita wrote:John (Navre) is correct. It's one thing to have a super emergency and have no choice to leave a bird alone (not that I would EVER consider doing such a thing!) but it cannot be done as part of their regular life. Parrots need to have company 24/7/365 to stay happy and healthy. This is not a matter of anybody's opinion, it's the way nature made them and you can't go against nature's rules without consequences. Loneliness is EXTREMELY stressful to them and stress depresses the immune system which means a fertile ground for disease. Some birds are needier than others and species like macaws, cockatoos, grays and the GCCs are the worst - they are very unhappy when the owner works full time so imagine how they would feel if they are left alone every single weekend?! It would be a terrible, terrible life for them - almost torture! Please reconsider getting a parrot because your lifestyle does not permit it... even getting a sitter to come in every weekend to feed it and check on it would not be acceptable. You could do that with a dog or a cat but, when it comes to parrots, the only one that 'does it' for them is their owner.
I don't know much about finches, except that the gold ones like to eat thistle in my back yard, but maybe a little flock of finches would work. They seem generally disinterested in people, there are many beautiful varieties, and they make neat little noises.