Looking to adopt a bird for the first time!!!

[FrankLampard]

Hello!,

It's my first time adopting a parrot and I was wondering if I could get some advice! We live in a small one bedroom apartment close to the road so there's lots of road noise and we were looking for a small parrot that is affectionate, not too loud and can do some mimicking. We have limited experience handling parrots and would like to know what's the best type of parrot for our situation. We've looked at Budgies, Cockatiels and Quakers but haven't decided if these are the right ones for us.

Thanks!!

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[Pajarita]

Hi, Frank, welcome to the forum and thank you for doing research before you make a decision.

Now, if by 'mimicking', you mean words, please note that not all parrots talk but, of the species you mentioned, the most likely to talk is the quaker. There are budgies and cockatiels that also talk but in order to achieve this you need to get a VERY young bird and keep it alone all its life -which is VERY cruel to them because they are aviary and not companion species so they can never be happy without the company of other birds of their own species. Both species do well in bonded pairs - which does not mean they will love only the other bird and completely ignore you. If they are cared for correctly, they can learn to trust, like and even love you - but they are not companion species and, even when they are handfed, they never develop the deep bond the companion species have with their humans. People will tell you that they have a lone budgie or a lone cockatiel that loves them and is very happy with them but it's more wishful thinking than reality. Aviary species are only truly happy when they have, at least, one other bird for company, and their devotion to their human is simply out of a peremptory need to have some sort of companion. Call it 'a little something is better than nothing' kind of consolation. Please understand that I love birds and that, to me, their wellbeing, both physical and emotional is my primary concern and not what I can get out of them.

Quakers do bond very deeply to humans and learn to talk (they are one of my favorite species of parrots) but they tend to be loud and quite constant in their vocalizations (they are the only species that I have observed vocalizing constantly mid-flight - all the other vocalize when perching or walking only) so, unless you have tolerant neighbors, they are not what one would call good 'apartment' birds. Mind you, this, as with everything else, is a matter of personal perception. I have two quakers, a male and a female, and they vocalize all the time but it doesn't bother me AT ALL - quite the contrary, I like it because it reminds me of home! They are also intensely sensitive to light schedule because they come from countries with temperate climate (I was born and raised in one of them) and HIGHLY dependent on photoperiodism so, unless one of you works from home and can keep the light schedule strictly solar, it will become very loud and, most likely, also nippy (because their sexual organs keep on growing and growing -they are long-day breeders- and causes them first discomfort and later on chronic pain).

In your situation, what I would get is a bonded pair of cockatiels. They are beautiful, smart (the males learn to do wolf whistles and eve whistle songs), not loud (in a pair, only the male vocalizes) and relatively easy to care for because they have each other when you are not there.