Birds 

There are so many birds that people have as pets.  They come in all sorts of sizes, make different noises, and have varying degrees of sociability. Some need a lot of exercise and can be messy or very noisy when you wish they were quiet. You can get bird seed or pellets at the pet store and most birds also eat fruits and vegetables. Some even eat protein sources.  I’ll describe many different types of birds and give some general characteristics of them, but these are just guidelines. Each bird, like each dog, cat, person, or any animal, is an individual. I loosely sorted the birds based on size - smallest to largest.

Finch

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Male_adult_Gouldian_Finch.jpg

Finches are small birds that are easy to care for. They will grow to be 3-10 inches. They are not very demanding of human attention.  You can get a group of finches and they’ll happily entertain each other for the most part, leaving you to sit back and enjoy them from afar when you are able. They might not like to be handled, but they do like activity around them, so it is good to keep their cage in a busy room. You can buy finch food from the pet store - it’s mostly pellets and seeds. You can also feed them insects, bits of fruit, and vegetables. They are songbirds and come in different colors. They can live up to 5-15 years. Some types of pet finches are Gould’ian and Zebra Finches.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zebra_finch_(Taeniopygia_guttata)_Female.jpg

Canary

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canary_(Serinus_canaria).jpg

Canaries are yellow, like Tweety Bird in the cartoons, but they are also red, blue, orange, white, and green. They make happy little songs, with the males singing more than the females. Both don’t sing very loud, so they might be good birds to adopt when you have close neighbors. Canaries are fine with being the only bird around and don’t need to be held very much. They do like to fly around, though. Put them in a cage that is wide and not necessarily high, so they can easily fly in their cage. They can be kind of messy-throwing seeds outside of their cage and such. They can eat bird food from the pet store, as well as fruits and vegetables. They’ll grow to be about 4-5 inches and will live between 10-15 years.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_yellow_domestic_canary_on_a_stick.jpg

Parrotlet

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Female_Blue_and_Male_Green_Pacific_Parrotlets.jpg

Parrotlets are small parrots. They grow to be  4.5-5.5 inches and can live for 20-30 years.  They need human interaction and will get ornery if they don’t get enough attention, but will be loving and fun if you play with them a lot. They are tiny but have a lot of bravado. Their out-of-cage time should be highly supervised so they don’t get into trouble or injured. They are fine with living alone and might fight over food if there is more than one of them in a cage. They might be taught words and they will chirp, but their volume is low, so they won’t bother the neighbors.

Lovebird

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Agapornis_genus_-lovebirds_in_aviary-8.jpg

Lovebirds are the smallest of the parrots, growing to be between 5-7 inches. You can definitely keep two lovebirds together and it’s really cute how they interact, but a single lovebird will bond to their humans more. They need to be trained to accept handling and might bite if they are not used to you. Having them fly freely throughout a room for at least 2 hours a day will provide them with exercise and stimulation. They won’t talk to you, but they will talk to each other if you have two. A single lovebird will sing at times, though. They might live for 5-15 years.

Budgies/Budgerigar

These are really popular birds from the parakeet family and grow to a size of 7-8 inches. There are two types of budgies - Australian and Enlgish. The English ones are usually a little bigger. They can live with other budgies or alone. Many budgies can learn to talk even better than some of the larger talking birds, but they are not excessively loud. They need a varied diet of pellets, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. You can expect a budgie to live 10-15 years.

Dove

Photo by Stefan Gogov https://unsplash.com/photos/white-and-brown-bird-on-brown-tree-branch-TcAigacJXHA

Doves are very gentle birds that rarely bite. They are also pretty quiet so they are a great choice for new bird families who live in apartments. They prefer to live in pairs, but will bond with their humans if given attention and treats. They might not like to be held but are a pleasure to watch. They will grow to be 7-12 inches. They need a cage that they can fly around in and they also need time to fly around the room. They will live over 10 years if treated well.

Cockatiel

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cockatiel_Parakeet_(Nymphicus_hollandicus)9.jpg

Cockatiels are handsome birds with a tuft of feathers on their heads. They are great for kids because they are easygoing and like to be handled.  They love to live with other cockatiels but will bond closely with you if they are the only bird around. If you don’t give them enough attention, they might get a little aggressive and pick or bite you. They will sing to you and mimic some sounds that they often hear.  They particularly like to look at mirrors and play with other toys.  You should let them fly outside the cage for over an hour every day. Just like other birds, they will eat bird food from the pet store, fruits, and vegetables. They will grow to be 11-14 inches and live up to 25 years.

Pionus Parrot

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pionus_chalcopterus_-pet_on_perch-6a.jpg

These are a type of parrot that is less noisy than most others of its kind.  They are pretty friendly, curious, and easily trained birds. They bond well with their humans and are less likely to bite than other parrots. They respond well to hand feeding.  You will need to clean their cage frequently because they poop a lot and will get sick if exposed to their own poop for too long.  Make sure they get at least 3 hours of out-of-cage living every day. They are not the best at saying human words, but they chirp and tweet easily. A Pionus will grow to be 11 inches. If properly cared for they will live around 30 years. There are other types of parrots that are popular, such as Amazon Parrots, African Grey Parrots, Meyer's Parrots, Quaker Parrots, and more.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turquoise-fronted_amazon_(Amazona_aestiva)_head.JPG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poicephalus_meyeri_-two_captive-6a.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Myiopsitta_monachus_-Gran_Canaria,_Canary_Islands,_Spain-8.jpg

Myna

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acridotheres_tristis_40973073.jpg

My brother took care of a Mina bird for a friend when I was little.  The bird sat in a cage in his room and it was named Mike.  the bird said “Hi Mike” all the time. Mynas make great pets, but they might be too loud for apartment living. The most common myna pet is the Hill Myna.  They love to eat insects in addition to pellets, fruits, and vegetables.  They grow to 12-18 inches and live 12-25 years. They like to be around people, but not to be held. They get used to lots of people very easily if you expose them to friends, family, and visitors, but they don’t like to be around other birds. They need a cage they can fly around in with perches in different areas., but also let them out of their cage for at least an hour every day.

Conure Parakeet

There are a lot of different types of conures.  Conures are a type of parakeet, which is a type of parrot that is small and has long tail feathers.  They will be as small as 10 inches and as large as 20 inches when fully grown.  They are colorful, curious birds and can be pretty noisy. They will be more noisy when you keep more than one in your home. They like to play with rope toys, hoops, and chew toys. They might get destructive if they don’t get enough attention and they need several hours of time outside their cage every day. You can sometimes add nuts, crickets, or mealworms to their diet of bird food, fruits, and vegetables. They can live up to 35 years. Other types of parakeets include Lineolated Parakeets, often called Linnies.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bolborhynchus_lineola_-pet-5.jpg

Cockatoo

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppel_Witkuif_kaketoes.jpg

Cockatoos are just fascinating parrots, the way they mumble/talk and dance.  They are most often all white, but do come on colors as well. They are one of my favorite birds to watch videos of.  While I can’t usually make out words that they say, their meaning is usually pretty clear, and they are often pissed off when they talk! At least in the videos.  They bond closely with their humans and get very distraught if they don’t get enough attention and will start plucking out their own feathers. Give them at least three hours out of the cage every day to interact with you and explore. They grow to 12-25 inches. Their diet is the same as most other birds - pellets, fruits, and vegetables. These birds live a long time - 25-75 years, so definitely make long-term plans for them.

Macaw

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Three_macaws_-Macaw_Mountain_Bird_Park,_Honduras-8e.jpg

There are several types of Macaws and many of them are endangered in the wild. They are among the largest parrots.  Some of them are very brightly colored and striking looking.  Many of them can mimic human speech.  They bond very closely with their humans and they live a long time. Their beaks are very hard and they can really hurt if they bite you. These beaks are great for opening coconuts and other nuts. They are also great at chewing up your furniture if you are not careful! They will eat small mammals and reptiles, in addition to regular bird fare. You need to keep their cage very clean because they can get pretty sick if they are exposed to poop too much.  Macaws are best for people who have bird care experience and are willing to put in the time and effort for them  The smallest macaws are 12 inches, while the largest ones (hyacinth macaws) can grow to 3.5 feet. They can live up to 80 years.

Tucan

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toucan_Parque-das-Aves.jpg

Tucans are not the biggest bird, but I have a special page just for a special Tucan. 

Go to my Dave’s Tucan Named Sam page to get an in-depth look at having a toucan as a pet bird

Subscribe to my newsletter to join the City Rescue Pet family. I'll be sending out newsletters with what's new on the website, newsworthy pet rescue info, and various articles celebrating our pets.

Recent Articles

• 
• 
• 

1. Poppy

   Mar 16, 24 02:28 PM

   
   After having no cats in my house for a while my family agreed to adopt a one-eyed cat I heard about. He was extremely standoffish. I loved him, but I still

   Read More

2. Last Chance Ranch

   Mar 14, 24 08:59 PM

   
   Last Chance Ranch is in Southeastern PA. They began in 1999 and they just keep growing. They have all kinds of animals up for adoption. they have horses,

   Read More

3. Cap'm Nick Furry

   Mar 14, 24 06:10 PM

   
   We were without a cat in the house for a while when I stumbled upon a video from a local shelter. The video was pirate-themed and showed a salty tuxedo

   Read More