in aviculture 1973-2017

 Choosing A Bird
Sorry, we no longer breed birds.



           

Please do not e-mail and ask us to recommend a bird for you as we cannot do this and have
no other opinions than the ones on this page or on our species profiles pages.

Sorry, we no longer breed birds.
Determining what will be the correct bird for your family situation, lifestyle, personality, and budget can be a very difficult decision for many people. From the number of e-mails we used to receive each day asking our advice regarding what bird our staff would recommend for various situations, we know this is a major concern for many of you. After some thought, this page was designed to give you some objective information that hopefully will help you know more about the various characteristics of the bird species (Please note that we no longer breed birds and we are no longer in business). The information on this page is left here for general help/information. It is difficult to recommend a bird for someone as this is akin to recommending what kind of food one should eat in our not so humble vegetarian opinion :^) or what kind of car we think one should drive, etc. Our favorites might not be your favorites and after all, it's only an opinion and everyone has a different one, right?! Therefore, please see the chart below for general characteristics regarding each species. Please note that some of these characteristics are relative to other species and can vary with individual birds, environment, training and socialization, and other myriad factors. Bird behavior can be as varied as human behavior thus your experience with a particular species may differ from our opinion. Behavior is extremely variable and it is impossible to make absolute statements of fact.
Please see the explanations below that correspond to the numbers beside each species name. species profiles pages.


 



           

Species highlighted in this color are Gail's personal favorites for pets!

CLICK HERE for concise (no images) printable version of the chart below

 

Bare-Eyed Cockatoo
1, 6-8, 10, 13, 16, 21, 26

link to species profile page

Moluccan Cockatoo

2, 5, 9, 14, 16, 22, 26

link to species profile page
 

Black-Headed Caique
4, 7, 11, 13, 16, 21, 24

link to species profile page
 

Noble Macaw
2++, 6/8, 11, 12, 16, 21, 24

link to species profile page
 

Blue-Fronted Amazon
1-2, 5/8, 10, 13, 17, 21, 26

link to species profile page
 

Orange-Bellied Senegal
2+, 7, 11, 12, 18, 20, 24

link to species profile page
 

Blue & Gold Macaw
2, 5/8, 9, 14, 17, 22, 25

link to species profile page
  Panama Amazon
1+, 6/8, 10, 13, 17, 22, 26

link to species profile page

featured species profile
  Blue-Headed Pionus
3, 7, 10, 12, 17, 21, 24

link to species profile page
  Red-Crested Touraco
4, 6, 10, 13, 16, 20, 27

link to species profile page
 

Bronze-Winged Pionus
3, 7, 10, 12, 17, 20, 24

link to species profile page
 

Rose-Breasted Cockatoo
2+, 7, 10, 13, 19, 22, 26

link to species profile page
  Citron Cockatoo
3, 6, 10, 13, 19, 22, 26
link to species profile page
 

Ruppell's Parrot
3, 7, 11, 13, 18, 22, 24

link to species profile page

Congo African Grey
1+, 7, 10, 13, 18, 21, 25

link to species profile page
  Scarlet Macaw
2+, 5/8, 9, 14, 16, 22, 25

link to species profile page
  Cuban Amazon
2, 6/8, 10, 13, 17, 22, 26
 

Senegal Parrot
2+, 7, 11, 12, 18, 20, 24

link to species profile page
  Double Yellow-Headed Amazon
1+, 5/8, 10, 14, 16, 22, 26

link to species profile page
 

Slender-Billed Cockatoo
2, 5, 10, 13, 16, 23, 26

link to species profile page
  Ducorp's Cockatoo
2, 6, 10, 13, 17, 22, 26

link to species profile page
featured species profile
 
Solomon Island Eclectus-
1, 6/8, 10, 13, 19, 21, 24


link to species profile page
  Goffin Cockatoo
2, 6, 10, 13, 17, 21, 26

link to species profile page
Stella Lory
4, 7, 11, 13, 16, 21, 27


link to species profile page
  Greater Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo
2, 5, 9, 14, 16, 23, 26
 

Sun Conure
3, 5, 11, 12, 16, 20, 24

link to species profile page
 
  Green-Cheeked Conure
3, 7, 11, 12, 17, 20, 24

link to species profile page
 
 

Timneh African Grey
1+, 7, 10, 13, 18, 21, 25

link to species profile page
  Greater Vasa Parrot
3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 21, 24

link to species profile page
  Tres M. Yell-Head Amazon
1+, 5/8, 10, 14, 16, 22,26

link to species profile page
  Green-Winged Macaw
2, 5/8, 9, 14, 17, 22, 25

link to species profile page
  Umbrella Cockatoo
2+, 5, 9, 14, 16, 22, 26

link to species profile page
 

Hahn's Macaw
1-, 6/8, 11, 12, 16, 21, 24

link to species profile page

featured species profile
 

*Vosmaeri Eclectus
1, 6/8, 10, 13, 19, 21, 24

link to species profile page
 

Hyacinth Macaw
2, 5/8, 9, 14, 16, 23, 25

link to species profile page
 

White-Crowned Pionus
3, 7, 10, 12, 17, 20, 24

link to species profile page
  Jamaican Yellow-Billed Amazon
3, 5, 10, 15, 16, 22, 26

link to species profile page
 

Yellow-Collared Macaw
3, 8, 10, 13, 17, 21, 24

link to species profile page
Jardine Parrot
2, 7, 11, 13, 18, 21, 24

link to species profile page
Yellow-Faced Parrot
3, 6, 11, 13, 17, 21, 24


link to species profile page
  Major Mitchell (Leadbeater's) Cockatoo
3, 5, 10, 14, 19, 23, 26

link to species profile page
  Yellow-Fronted Kakariki
3, 7, 11, 13, 19, 20, 24

link to species profile page
 

Magna Double Yellow-Headed Amazon
1+, 5/8, 10, 14, 16, 22,26

link to species profile page
 

Yellow-Naped Amazon
1+, 5/8, 10, 14, 16, 22, 26

link to species profile page
 

Maximillian Pionus
3+, 7, 10, 12, 17, 20, 24

link to species profile page
  Yellow-Thighed Caique
4, 7, 11, 13, 16, 21, 24

link to species profile page
 

Meyer's Parrot
2, 7, 11, 12, 18, 21, 24

link to species profile page

TALKING ABILITY
1. excellent 2. good 3. fair 4. not known or quite limited

LOUDNESS FACTOR
(this factor can be extremely variable and is relative to environmental/training factors etc.)
5. quite loud at times 6. moderately loud at times
7. relatively quiet 8. variable, some individuals can be noisy but
others talk instead of making "noise"

SIZE
9. large (20-36 inches total length including tail) 10. medium (12-20 inches
total length including tail) 11. small (8-12 inches total length including tail)

RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN?
(these recommendations are variable with individual birds and/or children!)
12. yes! 13. maybe, depends upon the age of the child and the individual bird
14. caution advised due to size and/or general temperament of the species.
15. not recommended to be kept as a pet due to its rarity in captivity

PERSONALITY
16. extrovert or extremely playful or friendly; strong precocious personality 17. mild, even personality 18. can be shy with strangers or easily become "one person birds"
19. variable with training (training/socialization are huge factors in ANY bird's personality!)

COST FACTOR
20. relatively low priced 21. moderately priced 22. higher priced 23. more expensive, but worth every penny!

RECOMMENDED DIET
24. psittacine diet as recommended on our diet page 25. psittacine diet with whole nuts and/or coconut and/or some oil seeds (higher fat content) added
26. psittacine diet with lower fat content, tend to get overweight 27. specialized diet (for soft-billed birds or nectar diet)

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