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So you want a bird, huh? Most people buy their first bird because it looks so cute sitting there in the store and they think, “Wouldn’t that be fun to have a bird?” Buying a bird is a huge commitment and this article will try to make it a little easier. The very first piece of advice I can give you is this: If you’re thinking of getting a pet bird - DON’T!
It should not be an impulse buy. Birds are messy, cranky, loud, demanding, expensive and far from most people’s idea of the perfect pet. If you want to know what it’s like to own a bird, go to the pet store, buy ten pounds of bird food and when you get home, take eight pounds of it and throw it all over the living room! Now you know what it’s like to live with a bird!
Now that I’ve warned you, having a pet bird is like no other pet in the world. They are entertaining, fun and a real topic of conversation. There is a bonding that can take place that just melts you into a big puddle. I’ll give you an example by telling you we acquired Mo our umbrella cockatoo.
Several years ago, my wife and I were visiting a parrot rescue organization called Foster Parrots here in Massachusetts. We were thinking of getting a bird again after a lot of years without one. While we were there, a woman was bringing in six cockatoos because her husband had become allergic to the dust that cockatoos (and some other birds) give off. We volunteered to take two birds home temporarily and ended up with a little Goffin named Luna and Mo a cross between an umbrella and a moluccan.
After several weeks, we were told that there was room to bring back one of the cockatoos and we decided to bring back Luna. Luna had already destroyed a couple of windows and the chairrail in our living room so she was the logical choice. Mo was fun but was not easily handled and hadn’t really settled in yet. A few weeks after that, the rescue place called again to tell us we could bring back Mo and when I told my wife, she started to cry. We can’t bring Mo back. What if they don’t find a good home? What if the people don’t treat her right or understand her? What if she has to spend the rest of her life with no one to love her? My wife just couldn’t part with her even though Mo had barely been out of her cage! Besides, I wanted a double yellow headed amazon parrot. I definitely did not want a cockatoo! Cockatoos are noisy, dirty (from all the dust) and very needy. They’re called “velcro birds” for a very good reason. Anyway, that’s how we got Mo and I can’t imagine being without her now even though she can be a real pain you know where.
Unfortunately, that’s how most people get their birds. Not from a parrot rescue, although more people should adopt. I mean they get a bird without really planning what to get and what will fit in with their lifestyle. I knew enough about birds to know exactly what we were getting into but most people don’t and they end up with a bird that just doesn’t fit in. Different species have very different personalities and you really need to factor that into your decision about what bird to get. The other reason is that cockatoos are very large birds and they can be very intimidating, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.
I usually recommend that people do not start with a large parrot as their first bird, but everyone wants one that will talk because that’s what’s so much fun. A large parrot means a lot of responsibility and you really should have a lot of knowledge to go with it or they end up in a parrot rescue place and then they’re very hard to adopt out.
While this isn’t an in depth article about what each species is like, I’ll try to give you my personal opinion of the various types of birds you can own and I hope you will use this information as a starting point to begin your investigation of what type of bird is right for you. I’ll start with the smaller birds and we’ll move on up to the really big ones!
Canaries and Finches: Very small birds that won’t talk but you won’t find anything prettier than the song of the male canary. Females don’t sing so if you want the songs, get a boy. Finches are very colorful and come in a huge number of varieties. They are all fairly easy to take care of and are good first birds. Make sure they have a large enough cage to do some flying. Keep in mind that, if they get out of the cage, they’re tough to catch!
Parakeets - One of the best first birds. Easy to care for, fun to have around. They are easy to tame and, even if they bite, they won’t do a lot of damage. Wide variety of colors and not very expensive. Great for kids
Cockatiels - One of my favorite smaller birds. Very colorful, fun to train and a great bird for beginners. Very available and not a lot of money. People who own cockatiels get very attached to them.
Lovebirds - Generally kept in pairs so they bond with each other and not you. Again, they’re fairly easy to take care of and are beautiful little birds.
Conures - Some of the prettiest birds around are the conures. There’s not much that can match the incredible colors of a Sun Conure! My first bird was a Nanday Conure. They have very loud voices and do not make good talkers. Many people cannot stand the noise and I’m one of them.
Amazons - These are the “real” parrots and many of them are exceptional talkers. Amazons require a much greater commitment than the smaller birds. They need a lot of attention and interaction but the rewards are equally tremendous. They are very intelligent and make some of the best pets in the bird world.
Cockatoos - All of the cockatoos are exceptionally beautiful birds but I’m not sure they’re very good pets for most people. They need more attention than any other bird and they tend to be “high strung” as well. They bond easily with one person and they are not a bird that can be left on it’s own. They are very demanding and frustrating but if you have the time and dedication, you’ll have a lifelong “friend”.
Macaws - Again, I don’t think macaws make good house pets just because of their sheer size. These birds are big and can be very intimidating. They actually don’t tend to bite as much as other species, I’m much more nervous around cockatoos than I am macaws but they are not a bird for anyone without a lot of experience.
There you have my opinions in a nutshell. They are general and do not necessarily apply to individual birds since there are always exceptions to every rule. If you really want a bird, take your time, do the research and remember that many of them live 50 years or more so you are really making a lifetime commitment when you adopt a bird.
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Cliff Hagberg has worked with birds for over 30 years. He is the owner of Bird City USA, an internet store for bird supplies that also supports a parrot rescue.
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