I fell for parrots when I was researching for a short story I was writing. One of the characters was a bird and I wanted to accurately portray her (sun conures fit the bill). But after months of research for her I was unwilling to just leave parrots behind. I’d fallen in love with them. So I started even more intensive research and looked online for rescues near me (not a single one). I had been badgering my parents for months and it had always been a resounding no. Which hurt me deeply but I understood and didn’t want to get one unless they were on board, they were the ones who would have to buy all new cookware and stop using windex after all. But eventually my dad came to me with an add on Next Door for a quaker parrot. Next Door? Really guys? Won’t even go through the local bird club? Anyways. My mother sighed and said “let’s go meet her.” It didn’t take long for her to realize why I love parrots so much. Long story short we brought her home the next day (after some serious prep work) and that was that. She adores my mother but I’m alright too if I have cashews or any other treat, I don’t mind, I get to wake up to her squawking every morning and that’s a gift😂

What a great article. I’ve been doing exhaustive research and realized that I want the bird that I want, not the one that everyone thinks I should get.

I think it depends on the person and their lifestyle, present and future. My first and only bird is my eclectus. As long as you do your research and can make the huge commitment, a larger parrot shouldn’t be a problem.

My first bird of my own was a cockatiel, shortly after that purchase I bought a peach face, and then my Corella. I really wanted a larger bird, or as I say something I can cuddle, and my Cooper fits the bill perfectly, he is a giant snuggle birdie who loves to cuddle up under mom’s chin more than anything else in the world… Even his toys and destructiveness will stop immediately when I come in for a snuggle. I don’t think that there is any “right” bird to start with. I think it comes down to personal preferences and what a person is willing to do. Smaller birds require just as much time, and attention as the larger birds do. And regardless of the size of the bird, they can all take a nice chunk out of your hand. My little cockatiel was attacked by a neighbors dog and when my husband rescued her from the labs mouth he was attacked by her. She took a nice hefty chunk out of my husbands hand and he has the scars to proof it. You wouldn’t think such a small bird could do so much damage. side note She is fine, but it was a very scary situation, she escaped from her cage, and the lab grabbed her. Luckily they have soft mouths, and he wasn’t trying to kill just capture and return. If you have outside cages be sure to ALWAYS keep them locked with bird proof locks… It seems even a little cockatiel can figure out the locking mechanism on some of these cages…

I was about 8 when I got my first bird. My Mom got me a budgie, cage seed, grass cups, cuttle bone, and that paper with the grit glued to it, and bird grit. Hey it was back in the 60’s so don’t yell at me. We named him Petey. He was just the first of many. I could list the reasons why we lost most of them but I won’t. Some were accidents, Some were due to early ignorance. But all were loved. The only bird I got that I learned to hate was the conure I got when I was pregnant. It was not tame. I had twins, and every time I went near the bird it would scream and wake the twins. I took it to a pet shop. It was a very stressful year. having twins, and loosing my Dad. Plus Both sets of parents moved away. I just could not deal. That was still early bird years. Still didn’t know what we know now. My next bird was a tiel. Then I had more tiels. They are great birds. pretty, friendly and the kids could hold them with out fear of getting bit. Loved the tiels. Now I have a U2, and a Hawkhead. My oldest has a Peach front conure, and 2 parrotlets. My youngest has some tiels and a budgie, and a B&G macaw. We have learned a lot. Its no longer feeding birds seed like in the 60’s. I cook and freeze a mash of veggies, legumes, pasta, grains, etc. and then they also get fruit and fresh veggies as well every day, with nuts and a small amount of seed mix and pellets. and toys tons of toys. They are the kids now. And unlike when I got the budgies the first conure and the tiels. after that, joined a bird club, subscribed to the now defunked Bird Talk, and were the Halkhead is concerned. found a Hawkhead group on Yahoo. They gave me the best info on that breed of bird. Bird Talk did not like Hawkhead parrots. They said very little about them but it was all negative. Which is very wrong. They are not that bad bird they make them out to be. They are like a cross between an Amazon and a Macaw. Unless you decide to breed them. Then you have a velociraptor. This is a great group of people. they helped me get Duncan, My Hawkhead Parrot. They put me in touch with some one who had some babies they were selling and when the time was right, I sent the bank check and they sent my baby. Now if I could just get my sweety Sammy (my U2) to get along with my Duncan. Sammy doesn’t like to get along with any one. He doesn’t like to share me.

Some birds are easier to care for than others. Within a species there are still personality differences. There are the physical requirements for a bird, large birds – large cages, Lories – mess, some birds are very noisy and so on. Be sure to consider these. Given the time requirements I don’t see myself owning more than one bird. I don’t know if I could pick a starter bird. There are many good choices, do some research, figure out the time commitment – it’s more than you realize. Your bird will be your companion.

I started with a cockatiel but lost him I now have a green cheeked conure and have had him for 7 years now. He has travelled over 100,000 klms with me around Australia and loves travelling. I am now settled in a small flat and he is just as happy as long as he is with me, Smokey is very affectionate to me and very protective which can be a bit annoying sometimes around other people. He can really sense if someone is afraid of him and will strut and fluff up at them. He talks a lot and calls me daddy, if I growl at him he responds with stop it behave yourself and then rushes over to me and says do you love smokey . He is a real little charmer and I would reccomend them as a ist bird they can be a bit nippy sometimes but I guess all birds do that occaisionally

Personally, I think the Cockatoo’s are the loudest of the parrots. My Amazon is loud but more in the high frequency of his screech and both are far louder than my blue and gold macaw. They all have their different tones/sounds but they are all great.

Bill, I always love it when you throw in your eloquent 2 cents worth… Patty

I have two African Greys and one Blue and Gold Macaw,my female Grey I have had for 18 years this year, and I beleive there is not a first bird for people all birds are like a kid once you have them you need to be there as long as they or you live . If that is not what you want then don’t get one at all, it tears my heart up to see birds that were bonded then dumped because they are to loud or make such a mess,please don’t get any bird if you are just looking to try and see cause they don’t get over it !

My parents were very good on making sure that 12 year old me didn’t get anything but a budgie or a cockatiel. Even now, I’m really happy that they stuck to that because with the same cockatiel now and a budgie, I seriously doubt I would be able to take on any more birds at this point with school and life. My mom also always wanted a cockatoo but it took a trip to a parrot refuge for her to see that I didn’t want a cockatoo because of the noise, the mess and the amount of care for which these birds need. Those birds may have given us each a small nip, but the fact that they drew blood was enough to convince her NOT to get one until she’s ready to absolutely commit!

I’ll argue for a Few ‘starter’ birds. Having lived out the aphorism that you, “..have to ruin a bird or two to learn how to care for all the rest.”, I’d hate to have learned a few lessons with a Macaw or one of my rescue Cockatoos. Starting with your ambition, a large, expensive and possibly dangerous bird is showing more faith in education and luck than I have. I like Cockatiels, as much for their durability and resilience as for their cheerfulness. In a culture that firmly believes in punishment as a prime behavior control, there are Lessons to unlearn dealing with birds. Birds take punishment as the abuse it really is and want nothing more to do with you, unless totally dependent from the egg for all support, in which case they just get really neurotic, just as humans in the situation do. Healthy birds would normally fly away and never revisit the spot, or anywhere they expected you to be. The best intuitive bird handler I know struck a Molly in anger after a bite, they are sort of friends again, after a looong time. Living with large parrots calls for more emotional control than I see most exercising with their own children. And the demands for attention get more difficult with a larger or more intelligent bird. Best to find out what You are made of with a smaller bird??

I fell in love with my friend’s caique and after some research got my own. Frisco is blast with his antics and some talking. He and I should reach our golden years together since they don’t live as long as a macaw. I couldn’t bare the thought of him ending up in rescue. He is a whole lot of fun in a small package. If you aren’t familiar you should check them out.

CONURES: I have a sun conure (age 4) & a blue crown conure (age 2). My Sun doesn’t vocalize often, but when he does it’s usually loud screeching. My Blue Crown on the other hand, he babbles all the time & makes a variety of sounds. He mocks me & the dog & he’s also learning words & constantly wants to play and/or get into mischief LOL! My Sun mainly likes to ride around on my shoulder or climb under a blanket with me & lay on my chest & chew holes in my t-shirt! For them both being Conures, they certainy have very different personalities and they like different things… I do enjoy & love them both tremendously, but they are definitely a huge commitment even though they aren’t “large” birds!

And don’t think she’s joking about the African Grey and your bedroom noises. My African Grey “tattled” on my husband. Seems he was watching some porn on the computer (in the same room where Woody, our CAG, resided), and didn’t put his earphones in. A couple days later, a friend and I were sitting around chatting, when we heard moans coming from the bird room. My friend said to me, “Is that -?” and I said, “Oh, god, yes, I think so. . . .” Then we both burst out laughing!

Question: Our cockatiel (Bobby) loves to sit on my finger and have me pet the back of his neck with my chin. (And he loves me to pet his beak with the tip of my finger.) But he doesn’t like me to pet on his back or neck with my hand or fingers. Is this peculiar to cockatiels?

Agree with the article! I started with birds, like so many, with a budgie when I was young… then several budgies. 40 years on, I decided I really had missed on out having birds around and did the research and decided on a male Red Sided Eclectus. Found a breeder that hand raised then along with several other species and got “suckered” into the 2 Sun Conures that were in the same feeding box as the Ekkie. Turns out 6 years later, the Ekkies is a dream and the two conures are referred to as velcro-birds. I have to agree… if you know the requirements of the species and can handle those needs…. Ekkies for instance require a high fruit and veg diet and a good degree of interaction, then any bird is straightforward. In point of fact, easier than a dog and just as affectionate in a beaky/feathery sort of way! My only comment on level of difficulty deals with quantity… more is definately a challenge!!

I don’t understand the problem. It’s an easy question to answer. A good first bird is the same as a good 20th bird… The species is called “WISE RESCUE”… They come in all colors, sizes, ages, personalities, etc. Need is the only thing they all have in common.

I started out with an eastern rosella. Although people say that eastern rosellas are hardly “friendly” and are meant for more experienced bird owners, i think they can be tamed easily, just like the cockatiel and budgies that i bought soon afterwards. All in all, i just think if you pay much attention to all species of birds, you’ll find that they are all able to be tamed, and become loving pets :)

I agree that all birds have their own personality. I started with a parakeet first and he died after a year. I wasn’t going to give up and I got a Grey cockatiel and he only liked me so he was a good talker and he was very nervous and did not like to come out of his cage. I had him for 23 years and loved him dearly. In between that time I was given a Lutino cockatiel because their owner didn’t want him. He was a great bird, friendly and loved to come out and visit. He didn’t speak when I got him. But learned pretty bird from my other cockatiel. He was 13 when I got him and died at 22 years old. I love birds and decided to get a Senegal Parrot that I gor when she was 5 months old. She is so wonderful. She loves her time out. I have been trying to teach her to speak. It sometimes sounds like she says something but not clear. I only had males before and I won’t give up but it seems as though females are harder to train to speak. I would’nt trade Cali for anything I just love her. But as you can see the personalities of all of my birds were different. They are like people and you just have to choose which is better for you. And the time you are willing to spend with them. Birds love to be with their owners.

IF you are fortunate enough to have a bird store available where you can visit the baby birds that are available and talk to other bird people, you learn alot and you if it is meant to be are likely to bond with one and I agree that the bird has some say in the matter as well. My sun conure was jumping up and down in the large tank he was in when he could see me. Long story short, I have a really beautiful and sweet sun conure, Fritz, about 4 years old. I have acquired most of my little flock in similar ways.

I think if you get a budgie and treat him as if he were a macaw you will find your self very satisfied! They are a brave, playful and loyal companion when trained.

watch out for special diet of the loving quaker… they have a geneticabnormality and can’t have human fatty foods - they develop ‘’’ fatty liver syndrome at an early age… caiques are the clowns of the parrot world … brilliant, they have controlling personalities…. and tremendous beak strength which they can use during hormonal mating season… and when they don’t get what they want ‘’quickly enough’’’… one needs to have experience with bird non-verbal language to appreciate these lovable companions…. brotegeris [grey-cheeks] are a great’’ first bird’’ BUT SO ARE ‘’BUDGIES…’’BEST ADVISE::: research what the species is supposed to be like… then realize and accept the reallity that like children… EACH IS AN INDIVIDUAL… ray levine

About 5 years ago a Senegal bird flew into our yard and onto my husband’s back. He brushed “Sherbert” away and called me. I went out side and put out my finger and Sherbie jumped right on and he has been with us ever since. We are NOT bird people let alone parrot people. But Chet and Sherb have trained me and he is our absolute love. Sherbert goes with us on trips along with our labador dog . We got very lucky to have such a wonderful guy fly into our lives. I can’t imagine life without him now as he has greatly enriched our lives. We hope that we have given him as much love as he has given us!

Well said, Katherine!!!! Just my opinion, but I thought the whole idea behind this topic was to get ppl away from the idea that there is a “Starter Bird” out there….so why continue to say that one breed over another would be the best bird to start with? I have had many birds in my life anywhere from a budgie to a macaw and I can honestly say that all of them were rewarding but very time consuming, even at age 12 I was ready to take the responsibility of having a bird OWN ME At the present time I have a 5 year old female Quaker, 8 year old male Meyers, 11 year old female B & G Macaw, and a 41 year old male Umbrella Cockatoo. And I’m very proud to say that all 4 birds were adopted from a local rescue. With that said, please adopt a parrot in need!!!! Just wanted to add a big LOL to Chet cuz I looked under my U2’s wing and there is no 666 tattooed on him!!!! Thanx