I have been lurking for a short while and finally decided to make an account here.I have always had an interest in birds but mentally I think I was unprepared after what I was raised to believe and my first hand experience around them(Example, watching my grandmother randomly assaulted by a parrot when I was a little kid while visiting a pet store. Being attacked by wild ducks as a kid. Stuff like that had a real bad negative enforcement on me I believe.) but at the same time I also really wanted to hold, pet, and play with them. Honestly, even in my recent visit to the nearest bird store we have up here I was extremely intimidated by the bigger and louder birds.
With that said, I had taken an interest in some of the smaller parrots like the Senegal and more and more I have been drawn to the smaller birds(Er, not really really small ones though XD). In my mentioned recent visit to the bird shop to inquire about the Senegal Parrots, they did not have any and they said that it was basically a crap shoot on getting any from the local breeders, I got a chance to play with some White Bellied Caique's. There were two of them that were not in a cage but played freely in a little play area on the counter. At first when I got there I was really reluctant to touch and basically watched them play. The two loved to jump around, roll around, climb on anything including each other, climb upside down, ect. They were super active and seemed really careless. Every minute or so of playing one or the other would hop onto the edge of the play area and just look at me like it wanted me to hold it, some times even holding up a talon.
Needless to say I eventually decided to hold one and it happily stepped up onto my finger and started playing with my shirt and using its beak to help move around my arm. It was happy to be pet and super friendly, not even really biting but just using its beak to move around. The other one must of gotten jealous though and hopped onto my arm as well before I knew what was happening, both wanting my attention. Honestly it was a little overwhelming but I absolutely fell in love with them. They were so friendly and playful, I got a few hard bites but honestly they were not that bad. The only down side to the bites when they did bite hard, which again was only a couple times over the full length of interacting with them, was that they did not want to let go.
Over all, I felt really comfortable with them in a short time interacting with them and really want to play with the two again XD
Anyway, to the point... I do not know enough, in my opinion, about birds yet to consider myself ready to own one but I want to get to that point. If I am going to have a little companion I want to be prepared, know what I am getting into, and be able to give the bird a very happy and comfortable life without spoiling it. So I hope to engage in asking questions to you veterans and taking any and all advice you can give.
With that said, I do have a question to start off with.
What are the Pro's and Con's of Senegals and White Bellied Caiques? Like I said, I fell in love with the White Bellies at the bird store but don't know enough about the two to make comparisons. I am looking for a bird that I can keep out of its cage when I am around and can keep an eye on them. A bird that would love the be played with and interacted with for several hours a day but not so attention hungry that it would not let me work/give my attention to anything else. That it could entertain its self in its play area near me during periods when I am busy.
How hard are the two to train comparatively? I don't know much of anything about the Caiques but I have read a lot of conflicting statements about Senegals on these forums. Some people saying that Senegal are a great starter bird and some saying they are not a good bird for someone with no/a lack of experience with birds. I am only looking to have one bird for myself, not for family or anything, and with how long birds live I only really want to invest in one at a time.
Anyway, sorry for the long winded introduction and I hope to learn a lot on these forums.
Yellow-sided Green Cheeked Conure. Rest in peace, my Peanut.
Cobalt Budgie
Turquoise Lineolated Parakeet
Sissy
Rebel