what kind of bird?

Question
Hi,
Given your experience with many kinds of birds, what  bird would make the best companion bird for someone with some bird experience/knowledge?
Talking ability is unimportant while gentleness and a willingness to be handled is important.
The bird will be able to be out of its cage a good portion of the day.
There are no small children in the house.
Thanks,
Jonathan

Answer
Hi, Jonathan.  Thanks for posting your question.

Recommending a bird is very personal and hard to do without knowing more about your lifestyle, knowledge of birds, etc.  Every bird has the ability of being gentle, and I think every tame companion bird wants the opportunity to be handled and share time with it's human companion.  With the latter being said, I think the best companion bird for someone to start out with, that isn't expensive, and should give you years of joy would be a cockatiel.  These birds are in between a small and medium sized parrot, they are gentle birds, females are most affectionate, fairly quiet,  usually don't learn to speak, and they love human attention.  Male tiels have a beautiful voice, can learn to talk, also enjoy human companionship, and are a little bit more roudy than the female.  Quaker parakeets are also a very good choice.  They are a bit more expensive than cockatiels, little bit bigger, and make great companion birds.  Indian ringnecks are also good first birds and are about the size of quakers.  I recommend you look through some parrot books and/or on the Internet to get some more information about different types of parrots...colors, size, etc.  Some birds have special dietary requirements, some birds need more room than others the same size, some larger birds who like to chew on wood can cause damage if left out and unsupervised, some birds are very moody and knowledge of aves is important, etc., etc (here's where knowing more about your lifestyle and how much you know about birds would help).

What you need to understand is that where birds are concerned, there are no guarantees.  For example, I recommended a cockatiel above.  However, if you choose to purchase a tiel and when you get s/he home, it could be the complete opposite of what I said above or what you want.  Each bird has it's own personality, own way of doing things, individual experiences, etc., just like humans.  I do recommend you search out a bird breeder and purchase a bird through a breeder versus a pet shop.  A lot of pet shops sell birds, but don't know a lot about their care, etc.  A bird breeder should provide good quality birds at reasonable prices and provide after sale support as required.  A bird breeder may also let you come in and look at different birds, provide recommendations based on your desires and lifestyle, handle different types of birds, etc.  You can also seek out parrot auctions/shows, etc., where many parrots are on display.  Also, be sure to buy a just-weaned baby bird for best results.  This way you can raise the parrot exactly the way you want s/he to be raised versus buying someone else's problem bird.

I hope my advice has been helpful.  There is so much to know about birds.  If I can help out any more, please let me know.  I'm working on a website geared just for bird information, but it won't be ready in a couple of weeks.  I'll post website address when I have it near completion.

Chrys