friendly parrots

Question
dear Dr. Abbott,
I would like to have a parrot as a pet. What type of parrot has a friendly character?
When you see a parrot how to define if it's an aggressive or friendly bird?
What type of parrot could learn "to speak"?
Many thanks

Answer
-- This is like asking "how do I have a perfectly behaved child?" and "which child is better, a boy or a girl?"

Each bird of each species has their own personality.  I've met some pretty aggressive, cranky cockatiels - while others have been incredibly sweet and gentle.  The same applies to every bird, from the smallest of budgies to the biggest of macaws.

A good deal of how a bird behaves is how the human treats them.  If you're patient, understanding, compassionate and give them unconditional love, they tend to be the same.

Just like a parent who encourages and supports their child tends to have good children.

And we all know that in some cases no matter how perfect we are as owners of animals or parents of children - sometimes things just don't turn out the way we'd like.

****************

Some birds are outgoing and talkative; others are quiet and retiring.

Aggression is something that usually happens as the result of fear or nervousness.  So a confident bird that feels safe and loved is not likely to be aggressive.

As for speaking, all psittacines (parrots or birds with 'hooked bills') have the capability of mimicking or 'speech'.  Even some other birds like Mynah's have the ability.

When it comes to them actually wanting to DO this, to use words, that's another individual thing.

Probably the best talkers are male cockatiels and any African Gray parrots.  Amazons are also very good.  

With this said, the biggest mistake a human can make is to try to find a bird to provide conversation.  

You're better off looking for a bird that's a good listener.  

*****************************

Birds aren't 'easy care' animals.  If they aren't interacted with every day - which includes at least two hours of out of cage time, touching, bonding with you, they can quickly become what a human perceives as "unfriendly".  

And when it comes to food - well, if you're not one to cook for yourself or make a fuss over meals, this has to change when you have a bird.

They need a base diet of quality pellets (not seeds - birds living with humans should never be fed a diet of seeds) and fresh fruit and vegetables.

That means lots of slicing, dicing, chopping and in many cases, cooking.  They need things like cooked rice, quinoa, whole grain pasta, beans and so on to accompany their fresh diet.

*********************************

Take a look here http://www.4animalcare.org/birds

********************************

You're doing a fine job in trying to find out all you can first rather than just pick a bird and hope it's like you've seen in movies or t.v. shows - or even in someone else's house

That's very, very wise of you!

Keep it up