Types of Parrots – Which Ones to Chose As Ideal Pets?

The first step to ensure that pet owner and the parrot companion are well-suited for one another is to get as much parrot information as possible starting with the types of parrots ideal for him. There are several hundreds of parrot species all over the world and it is a must that a prospective pet owner should get to know the different types of parrots before choosing the apt pet for himself.

The parrot information included here is very basic but will already give you an overview of the diverse types of parrots suitable for pet keeping. Getting g to know the characteristics of each of types of parrots will give you the opportunity to choose from among the parrot species the best and the most complementary parrot companion for you with regards to your lifestyle and living situation. The caring and maintenance of your parrot pet will by design depend on the time, space and care you can offer. There are types of parrots that need space and a lot of care while other types of parrots are easily maintained and do not require lot of training.

The scientific taxonomy of the parrot species is a bit controversial among scientists right now since earlier classifications have been found to be inconsistent with modern method. One classic example is the use of physical appearance as basis for grouping the types of parrots. DNA tests have shown that some parrot species included in one type do not share the same DNA traits. So for purposes of aiding in pet selection, the parrot information which will be used here are the types of parrots classification commonly used by breeders and parrot enthusiasts.

Basically, the term ‘parrot’ encompasses all the types of parrots known to man; roughly 372 parrot species in 86 genera. This is a generic name for a family of intelligent birds that share a strong physical appearance: strong, distinctive curved beak, bright and mostly multi-colored plumage, upright stance, strong legs, four-toed feet with two pointing forward and the other two backwards; similar dietary needs: fruits, seeds, vegetables and other human food; and, the ability to mimic sounds (some types of parrots can even hold short conversations). Most parrot species are from the tropical region but quite a few of them can be found in sub-tropical and temperate zones.

The parrot lover circuit uses these eight types of parrots classification to aid in pet selection:
a. parrots, intelligent large talking birds that need a lot of training before they can become good pets;
b. parrotlets, small parrot version but with bigger personalities and charming disposition;
c. macaws, feathered pets who need authoritarian training with a one word description — flamboyant;
d. conures, parrot species of different hued variety with gentle personality;
e. budgies (parakeets), green and yellow native Australian timid birds that need a lot of bonding with owner to become more sociable and entertaining;
f. lovebirds, a tiny playful that cannot mimic sound but have sweet entertaining chirps;
g. cockataiels, good captive breeders perfect for first time owners;
h. cockatoos, sociable and highly intelligent playful pet that can easily be trained to talk.

Popular parrot species commonly kept as pets are cockatoos, conures, cockatiels, lovebirds, buggies, macaws, Amazons, African greys, Caiques, Pionus and Poicephalus. Different types of parrots would have varied temperament, ability to talk and mimic (in fact this depends more on individual bird’s ability), trainability, care needs and sociability.

Gathering parrot information will give you the familiarity and understanding of the several types of parrots available and compatible to your way of life and personality.
Want more great information and a free e-course on types of parrots and parrot care? Come visit my http://www.parrotcare-tips.com website. I’m Eva Aubin, a parrot care expert, and I’ll be thrilled to share my knowledge about these great birds and help you and your pet to have a long lasting, fulfilling relationship.

Why Parrots Stop Talking

Why parrots stop talking is not always the problem. Some people long for their parrots to stop talking, simply because they talk incessantly once they have learned a few phrases. Parrots are very sociable, and want to communicate with other members of their “flock” – which means the people with whom they live. So a talking parrot is probably more common.

There are times, however, when parrots stop talking, and then the worried owner wants to know why parrots stop talking.

Reasons Why Parrots Stop Talking

There are several reasons why parrots stop talking. We cannot give a complete list here, but one of the following may apply to your parrot.

1. Some talking parrots stop talking for a few days when they arrive in a new home. They are adjusting to the change. They find themselves suddenly with a new “flock” in a new environment. Even a talking parrot will take time to sort things out in its mind before it feels comfortable.

2. Sometimes talking parrots stop talking when they are feeling ill. If your parrot has been talking, and stops with no apparent reason, consider health issues. You may need to take it to an avian veterinarian.

3. Talking parrots will “pout” and stop talking when they are unhappy with a change you have made. It may be you have moved the furniture in the room where the parrot spends most of its time. Maybe you are wearing an article of clothing the parrot does not like.

4. Another reason talking parrots may stop talking is the introduction of a new family member, either human or another pet. The parrot must work through the change, and stops talking while adjusting.

5. Sometimes a talking parrot has been frightened, perhaps by a prey animal. The animal may be outside, but visible from the parrot’s cage.

6. Finally, a talking parrot may stop talking if it becomes bored with its own chatter, and hears few words from you. Remember that your parrot talks to communicate with you. It is in a “foreign” land, away from those that speak its language, and is trying to learn your language to communicate.

What to Do When Parrots Stop Talking

There are several things you can do to encourage a talking parrot that has stopped talking.

If your talking parrot is in new surroundings, make it as comfortable as possible. Give it time to adjust, but while it’s adjusting, talk to it gently and frequently. As soon as it decides the new surroundings are safe, it will probably begin talking again.

If you suspect your talking parrot’s sudden silence is an early sign of illness, look at its eyes and feathers. If you detect dullness in either, you may need to have an avian (bird) veterinarian check your parrot.

Sometimes the answer is as simple as finding a change you have made in the previous few days or week. Did you move a vase that used to reflect the light? Did you move the parrot’s cage a few feet one way or another? Try to remember what may have changed and put it back the way it was. Your talking parrot may quickly speak up to thank you.

Check for predators, even though you know they cannot reach the parrot. A large, predatory bird flying past the window, or sitting in a tree outside can be the reason a talking parrot stops talking.

The best solution to helping a talking parrot find its tongue is to spend more time talking to and around the bird. Take it into other rooms with you and the family so it will feel like being a part of the conversation.

Talk to your bird as much as you would talk to a family member or very good friend, and before long, it should begin talking again.
©2007, Anna Hart. An avid reader and researcher, Anna explores many parrot species, and offers other interesting parrot information at http://www.parrots-of-the-world.com If you would like to learn more about how to train your parrot, you won’t want to miss Anna’s advice.

How to Handle Noisy Parrots

Parrots are noisy birds and if you have made a decision to keep a parrot, you have to learn to adapt to the squeaky sounds that they make. Yes they can talk beautiful words and entertain you. They can also sing like Bing Crosby. But there is also the other side, where they scream and squeak until your eardrums fell out.

Even the quietest of parrots can scream loud enough and often enough to make you wish you had kept a cat instead. The incessant screams can lead to complaints from your neighbors so be prepared to handle that.

So how do you get your parrots to shut up? You can’t use a scotch tape to tie the bird’s beak. The answer to that is to understand how parrots communicate and why they make all those noises. It is normal for a parrot to squeak or squawk and you have to accept that there is no such thing as a quiet parrot. Parrots can squawk for hours just like humans talk and chat non-stop. Then at the right time when the parrot has had enough, it will be quiet.

As in humans, the more comfortable a parrot is with its surroundings the more it will squawk. That’s why when you first take your parrot home it will be fairly quiet as it begins to adapt to its new home and surroundings. Once that is settled, be prepared for parrot noises.

However, parrots don’t squawk all day long. They usually do so early in the morning and then quiet down. They will then start the process again around sunset. They will also get a little active vocally after a nap. This is normal behavior which you should not worry about. It is an indication that your parrot is happy with its environment. If you feel that your parrot is noisier than usual, then it is quite possible that you have chosen a species that is more vocal than others. A Macaw can scream at ear piercing decibels for up to ten minutes at a time as compared to an African Grey or a Cockatoo.

As a parrot owner, you need to learn to identify between happy chirping and upset squawks. This is not hard to do once you have lived with your parrot after sometime. Upset squawks have a tone of desperation and unhappiness about them.

Once you’ve determined the cause of the noise, you can make your parrot quiet by giving it something to do. Like a baby, bored parrots scream more. Give them different parrot toys to amuse themselves and play with. You will notice that the sound will become less noisy and less frequent once the toys are placed in their cages.

Another thing you can look into is your parrot’s diet. Make sure that the food is fresh and has not expired. A healthy parrot is not going to be as noisy as one that is being fed with a proper meal.

Also look at the cage and ensure that the parrot has enough space to move about. Parrots squeal more in smaller cages. Let it out of the cage often so that the bird can feel the open space.

As a parrot owner, you have to accept the fact that parrots are noisy. But your love for parrots and their companionship means more to you than little noise inconveniences. What you can do is to look out for factors that cause your parrots to scream more and address that so that the noise can be minimized.
Azmi Adnan is a writer and a parrot enthusiast. Subscribe to his newsletter for interesting articles on parrots at his website http://www.power-to-live.com/parrot.html

Information on Parrots

Pet birds have now become the fourth most popular pet, behind dogs, cats and fish; and parrots are often the first birds that spring to mind when you think of pet birds. The types of birds that are included under the group name of parrots are: parrots, cockatoos, amazons, macaws, conures, lovebirds, parakeets, cockatiels and budgerigars.

Parrots have been extraordinarily favored among pet owners and it’s not hard to grasp why. Two of the preferred reasons why they make entertaining and lovable pets are due to their high intelligence and their power to talk. Although there is little evidence to suggest that they understand the words they are using, it is still quite amusing to the owner to hear pet parrots repeat the words they’ve been taught. As pets they are delightful, but they can become extremely moody and temperamental.

African Grey parrots have been said to have the intellectual capacity of a 5 year old child with the emotions of a 2 year old. Because of this higher intelligence, they can be demanding pets, and rightly so. African Greys have been kept as pets for over 4000 years. The Egyptians are thought to be the first to keep the African Grey as pets, as depicted in their hieroglyphics.

Because these birds are so popular, there is a large and thriving trade in smuggling the animals out of various countries, with many dying in transit. There are also moral questions about the keeping of such reportedly intelligent and wide flying birds in cages.

Parrots are again flying wild in the United States; even if they are not native to the states they now inhabit. These populations are made up of abandoned and escaped pet birds, and there are differing opinions on whether this is a good or bad situation.

Due to their popularity, parrots are following in the footsteps of cats and dogs in that they are also facing homelessness. There are over 150 rescue organization in the United States, and many overseas to face this growing problem. Sadly, many of these organizations are now full, and there are not enough caring individuals who are able to open more rescues. We are now beginning to see the use of euthanasia to control their numbers. Most birds living in animal shelters and avian rescue facilities are under the age of five! This is startling considering that some species of parrots can live to over 60 years in captivity.

Parrots are very intelligent birds and can provide us with many years of loyal companionship. It is up to us to provide everything these beautiful birds need when we make them part of our home and our lives.
Respectfully submitted by Idaline Hall. For more insider secrets in the areas of home & garden, pets, health & fitness, business, sports and recreation, natural and alternative healing, visit: http://QuickHelpTips.com

Stress Eased by Connecting With Wildlife – In This Case – Wild Parrots

Are you looking for a way to deal with life stressors? Many studies have shown that nature can help you improve your well being and health. It’s something you just know when you experience it. It worked for me.

After I moved from San Jose to LA County 8 years ago, I felt home sick. Besides keeping in touch with my family, what helped me the most was observing wildlife and shooting photos and videos of animals. For instance, in the early morning, I stood waiting and watching on my roof deck for the sun to break over the horizon. I waited for the wild parrots of Redondo Beach to wake up. Then, shortly after sunrise, stillness gave way to chatter in a gently swaying palm tree. Soon, about 50 parrots emerged from their roost, squawking as they circled above me in the early morning sky. Thirty minutes later, they divided into smaller groups to forage throughout the city. 

When I returned to Santa Clara County, I  discovered Mitred Conures on Saratoga Sunnyvale Road in Sunnyvale in a flowering Eucalyptus Tree. There they drink the nectar of the pink flowers, sprinkling the discarded petals on the sidewalk. After following the flock in the late afternoon, I discovered their roosting site at  Las Palmas Park. They sleep above the children’s playground in tall palm trees. 

These birds measure 15 inches in length and are green with red spots on their wings, small patches of red on their head, and yellow spots on their breasts. They have never flown at elevations between 1000-2700 meters in their native neotropical habitat of Peru, Bolivia or Argentina. Instead, these naturalized parrots forage, roost, and breed in Sunnyvale,  California. 

Originally, Mitred Conures were imported for the pet trade. But pet owners either let them go, or the parrots escaped, making their home in non-indigenous surroundings. Yet, they have thrived because they have grown accustomed to the temperate climate and have found an abundance of tropical plants, including evergreen trees in the winter and deciduous trees in the summer. Conures and other parrots can eat a variety of fruits, seeds and nectar.   Wild parrots have been observed in other cities, such as San Francisco. And in Southern California, Temple City has provided an urban habitat for more than 1,000 Red-crowned parrots.  If you want to view the parrots at the park, the best time is shortly before sunset.

Las Palmas Park is located at 850 Russet Dr, Sunnyvale, CA
Diana Clarke is a certificated teacher and health educator. Her articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News. Visit her website at http://yourskinandsun.com

Secrets About African Parrots

Those who are fond of keeping pets at home will find African Parrots to be a wonderful choice with some fascinating features. The origin of these birds can be traced back to the parts of Central and Western Africa among the rainforests, which can found in the form of two major sub species. These include the Congo Grey Parrot and Timneh Grey Parrot, which can be distinguished based on their size and color. The Congos are larger and come with light grey feathers characterized by dark red tail feathers along with a black beak. However, Timneh is relatively smaller with a charcoal grey body along with a tinge of maroon and grey found on its tail feather.

Some Secrets about Grey parrots

Most of these African grey talking parrots enjoy feeding on fruits, berries, nuts, grains along with seeds and vegetables among others. One of the secrets of African Parrots is that they possess good climbing skills. They get on to the uppermost branches of the tree to gather different kinds of food. These species usually tend to have their nesting places among the trees and palms or water based regions like the rivers and the islands. They possess a unique quality of mimicking the sounds of humans, birds and mammals including pets like owls, cats and other kinds of animals.

Besides, African grey talking parrots also have the most incredible cognitive abilities along with the capability to even mimic the sounds exactly as they hear. They can even replicate the sounds of telephone ringing, microwave, doorbells among other familiar sounds. they can learn repetitive tasks by associating them with some common phrases. Besides, they tend to develop a strong bond with the owners and require their attention most of the time as they get bored very easily and display their boredom by plucking their feathers.

The average lifespan of an African Parrot is about 40-60 years and some of them even manage to survive until the age of 75. Most of the male birds are larger than their female counterparts and you can notice some differences such as a narrow head and a more slender neck among the females.

You can find these African Parrots for sale but they do not come cheap and would cost you more than a thousand dollars but it is definitely worth investing in them for owning such household pets. These intelligent creatures can help in removing the monotony in the house and create a more friendly and interactive environment. You can check out some of the best parrot breeders available in your area who keep African Parrots for sale. African Parrot can be your best companion with whom you can spend your free time.
Ryan H. Grizzard is a parrot care expert. For more great information on African parrot visit http://www.parrotstalking.com

Some Parrots Can Be a Real Challenge

There are hundreds of different parrot species all different in size, color or temperament.

Speaking with word association comes to mind when one thinks of parrots, but they aren’t all equal in their ability to talk.

What really sets the different species apart is how hard each is to tame, and care for.

Some of the most challenging parrots are the cockatoos, the macaws and the amazons.

Cockatoos

Cockatoos are highly loyal, cuddly and affectionate parrots, but it comes with a price. They need attention and a lot of it.

If you are thinking of getting a cockatoo be prepared to spend the best part of your day keeping it company. A cockatoo that is ignored for most of the day will become a real terror. Most noticeable will be screaming.

A screaming cockatoo can be heard for blocks. Not only will your neighbors hate you, but you won’t be able to stand being in the same room as it.

If you are willing to spend the time they demand with one, a cockatoo is a very devoted parrot, but they aren’t for anyone that doesn’t have the time to socialize with them.

Macaws

First of all with all but a few exceptions, macaw birds are big.

All macaws, including the mini macaws can be extremely loud.

These birds need almost as much attention as the cockatoos do or they will turn into real terrors that scream and bite.

They don’t usually bite hard, but if they do they can easily break a finger.

With proper training macaws don’t bite, but if you don’t know the bird use a little caution.

Macaws may not be ideal for everyone, but they are fantastic pets in the hands of someone who is willing to spend the time and energy to tame and train one.

Amazons

If they have enough room and toys to play with amazon birds can be left alone longer than the other two. What makes them a challenge is their aggressive nature.

For someone that doesn’t have experience with parrots their aggressive nature can present a real challenge.

As with the other two parrots, if they aren’t properly trained they can be loud and noisy.

Amazons need a firm hand when they get aggressive, but they are great parrots that are almost as good at talking as The African Gray parrot.

If you educate yourself about what you are getting into before buying one, any one of these parrots will make a good choice for a pet parrot.
Did you know that cockatoo birds are consider the most cuddly of all the parrot species.
Even though they may be a challenge macaw birds are considered the gentle giants of the parrot world.
Find out more about the different parrot species at Pet Parrots Web.