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ability of mimicry isn’t found equally in all parrots. With patience and work, many parrot species can utter a few words or phrases, but if you’re really looking for the gift of gab, be sure to choose a yellow-naped or double-yellow-headed Amazon parrot or an African grey parrot, species especially known for their speaking ability. Even then, you can’t be sure you’re getting a bird who will talk unless he was talking when you bought him. (The same thing, incidentally, goes for the singing skill of canaries. Make sure you hear singing before you buy, if that’s what’s important to you.)

      

For tips on teaching a bird to talk, see Chapter 7. Chapter 12 is the place to go for hints about how to coax your bird to be quiet for a while!

      

What do you call a group of parrots? A pandemonium, of course! They’re sometimes also referred to as a company of parrots.

      Paying attention to price

      The price of a pet bird can be considerable, starting from less than $20 for some small budgies or finches and climbing rapidly into the hundreds of dollars for some of the large common parrots and into the thousands and tens of thousands for species that are especially rare, large, or difficult to breed in captivity.

      

Bargain hunting is usually a bad idea when it comes to birds. Raising healthy, well-socialized birds is time-consuming and expensive, and the prices for these birds reflect the labor that goes into their raising. You have to wonder what kind of corners were cut when you find a price that’s out of line with what’s normal for a particular species in a particular area. Is the bird a medical time bomb just waiting to explode with the stress of a new home? A simmering behavior problem waiting to develop? Too often the answer is “Yes” to one or both questions.

      

Figure out the price you can afford to pay, and then shop for the best bird possible for that money. Don’t fret over the bird you can’t afford, because you can find many wonderful and underappreciated species in every price range, and they make wonderful pets. We’d rather see you spend what may seem to be an “outrageous” $50 on a healthy, well-socialized budgie with great pet potential than $20 on a mass-produced budgie of unknown genetics or health, or $300 on a sick or emotionally crippled parrot of a species that usually retails for considerably more. You’re better off with the well-raised and socialized budgie, trust us. Budgies are cool.

      

Also, consider reaching out to rescue groups for birds in need of a second chance at life with the right forever home. Just as in animal shelters with dogs and cats, numerous shelter birds may be just the right fit for you!

      

The cost of a bird is only part of the hit you take when you bring home a feathered companion. Cages, perches, toys, and more are expensive, and so is that post-purchase veterinary examination, but they all need to be factored in to keep your pet bird healthy and happy. For more on bird gear — what you need, what you don’t, and more — see Chapter 4.

      PET PREFERENCE: CUDDLE-BUG, “WILD” THING, OR BREEDER?

      Most of the birds commonly available as pets today are valued as much for their companionship as anything else. Socialized, hand-raised babies grow up thinking humans are pretty cool, and they want us to be a member of their flock. We become their family!

      The new emphasis on companionship of the pet bird reflects a change in the way many people interact with their birds. In this regard, people often want birds to be family members. Some folks, though, still want birds more to look at than to cuddle, and those people are likely to be happier with birds content to live in an aviary with little or no human contact. Although these are domestically raised birds, to be sure, they’re typically as little interested in us as their wild-born relatives may be.

      A third group, the hobby or professional breeder, may have a different goal altogether. Just like a farmer who cares for the animals she stewards, aviculturists do, too. Often, the intended goal is to allow successful breeding and rearing of young birds. An aviculturist’s sole objective may be to allow their birds to procreate and raise their young. Some breeders want to successfully raise a particular species or subspecies. Others may work to develop new colors or varieties, win prizes at shows, make money (or at least pay the costs of production), and enjoy the intense joy and satisfaction that comes from successfully breeding and keeping healthy birds — or all of the above.

      What are you looking for in a bird? We talk about the joys as well as the challenges of breeding and raising birds in Chapter 13, and you can find plenty on both the hands-off and hands-on species later in this chapter. But you’re the one who must consider what relationship you’re looking for with your bird, because your decision affects the kind of bird you choose — not just the species, but in many cases the individual bird.

Keep in mind that we’re talking about unique species from a variety of different environments, not simply “breeds of birds.” Our avian friends originate from all around the globe and have evolved to live comfortably and successfully in a particular habitat. When we bring them into our homes to share their lives with us, we have an obligation to think in a species-specific way about what we do with them and for them.

Considering the Species

After you figure out what you want in your feathered companion, you can realistically look at what’s out there and start matching the species that connect with your personality and lifestyle. Don’t feel restricted! The variety of species and types of pet birds available today is so broad that all except the most dedicated quiet-and-neatness types can find more than one species to fill the bill — and probably several!

      We put our observations on the record here to let you know what each species is really like, both the good and the not-so-good qualities. Nobody’s perfect — not you, not us, and not any single bird. But getting the match as close as possible is your best bet for a long, happy, and healthy relationship.

      

Make no mistake: The qualities we’re talking about in this chapter refer to truly healthy pet birds acquired from reputable sources — and in the case of the parrot species, well-socialized birds to boot. Brian’s experience confirms that a healthy, well-cared-for bird can live roughly twice as long as some of the generic life expectancies published in most of the older reference books. You’ll never find a better testimonial to good preventive care. Poor living conditions combined with an unhealthy diet and risky behavior also limit our own life expectancies — similar to what we see in the birds we keep.

      

For information on choosing a reputable bird source, see Chapter 3. And don’t forget that a good start is only a start: Explore the latest on avian nutrition in Chapter 6 and on preventive care in Chapter 9.

      The hands-off color and songbirds

Finches — and canaries are finches, too — have been popular for centuries, with

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