by David Alderton
Photography by Cyril Laubscher

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The parrots featured in the second part of this book have a wide range of requirements, which you will need to consider carefully before choosing a particular species. This section details some of the more general points that you should bear in mind when choosing a parrot, in particular how to tell if a bird is healthy. While some species can be kept quite happily in the home - budgerigars and cockatiels make good family pets, and amazons, macaws and cockatoos are suitable for the more ambitious - others, such as parrotlets and parakeets, really need to be kept in an aviary.

Which birds make the best pets

While the Budgerigar remains unchal enged as the most widely kept pet bird, many other birds in the parrot family are also highly valued as companions. Unfortunately, however, a significant number of the larger species, such as the cockatoos, can be very noisy in the home, and tend to screech regularly as they mature. They are also destructive by nature, and their powerful beaks also mean that they can be difficult to handle.

Cockatiels are similar in appearance to cockatoos, but are much quieter birds, with an attractive warbling song, and more placid than cockatoosr making them ideal for a home where there are young children who may want to become involved in the bird's care. Like budgerigars they often prove talented mimics, too.

The African Grey Parrot is accepted as being the best talking parrot, and amazons are also talented in this respect, although they are noisier, too. Macaws can also learn to talk, and become very devoted to their owners, but the large multi coloured species can be difficult to house successfully in the home as they require considerable space, and again, their natural calls are quite raucous.

Sadly, the feeding habits of the lories and lorikeets create problems in the home; their fluid droppings are likely to be scattered onto nearby furniture through the sides of their quarters, unless these are adequately screened, and their desire to bathe means that water will a Iso inevitably splash about. However, if you are prepared to tolerate such difficulties (and the use of dry nectar mixes has helped with regard to their droppings), these colourful birds will make delightful pets, and surprisingly talented mimics.

You may also want to consider the likely lifespan of a bird when selecting a pet. Budgerigars live perhaps seven or eight years on average, whereas cockatiels and most parakeets should live well into their twenties. The larger parrots can make life long companions as they frequently live for 50 years or more. These birds rarely show signs of ageing, although towards the end of their lives moulting may be prolonged and feathers not replaced.

Keeping parrots outdoors

Other factors are likely to apply if you are intending to keep parrots in an aviary. Your interest may lie in exhibiting them or in colour-breeding, in which case, consider the Budgerigar, the Cockatiel and the Peach-faced Lovebird. Or you may want to choose parrots that can be bred without too much difficulty, in which case kakarikis, and Australian species, such as the Red-rumped Parakeet, are recommended; they will usually breed twice during the summer in temperate climes.

From a practical standpoint, you should think about the noise factor, especially if you live in a fairly urban area. While you may not object to the raucous calls of your Amazon parrots echoing through the neighbourhood at first light on a summer's morning, other people are unlikely to be so enthusiastic or tolerant! Most of the larger parrots prove quite noisy, and you may need to sound-proof their quarters, which will entail extra expense.

The destructive nature of larger parrots means that building them suitable accommodation is likely to be a costly exercise - and, of course, such birds are expensive to buy, particularly if you want a pair.

Thankfully, there are many parrots that can be housed and bred in suburban areas, without a vast investment; the grass parakeets (Neophema species), and other related Australian parakeets, lovebirds, kakarikis, parrotlets and hanging parrots all fit into this category. Conures and the psittaculid parakeets are also popular choices, although they can prove rather more noisy and destructive.

Finding a supplier

It is important to try to define your aims at the outset; if you are planning to exhibit budgerigars, for example, then you should buy exhibition rather than pettype stock. You can contact established breeders through a local society, details of which are likely to be available from your library, or in the advertisement columns of one of the birdkeeping periodicals available from good newsagents.

The same information sources can be useful for tracking down suppliers of other parrots, too, if pet shops in your area cannot help you. Having found a potential supplier, and ascertained that he or she has the birds you are seeking, there are a number of questions that you should ask before arranging a visit. Firstly, you will need to know the age ofthe bird, particularly if you are seeking a pet, and its sex, which is obviously vital if you are seeking to make up a pair. You may also want to know whether the bird has bred before, whether it has been placed at any shows, and whether it is acclimatized, if it has been imported.

Although it may be possible to have the bird sent to you, it is a good idea to visit the vendor's premises if you can. This gives you the opportunity to see the parrot's surroundings, and ask any more specific questions about the diet and general care that the bird has been receiving. As the cost of larger parrots has climbed steeply during recent years, some breeders are now selling these more expensive birds with veterinary certificates of health. This will give you some assurance of the bird's present state, but can provide no absolute longterm health guarantee.