Understanding About Parrot Birds: What They are all About

Worldwide, the family of parrot birds has over 350 members. The biggest subdivision is between true parrots, and their relatives more properly called cockatoos. The most obvious difference is the cockatoos' headcrest, a little clump of feathers that the bird raises and lowers as part of his means of communication. The expected lifespan of a domestic parrot can be as little as eight or so years for parakeets, or as long as sixty years for macaws.

Parrots birds are those birds that all share a few characteristics. First, all have four toes on each foot, two pointing backwards and two pointing forwards. They also share a distinctive beak shape that helps crack open foods with tough shells. Some parrots can even open a coconut.

Parrots birds remain incredibly popular, primarily because of their great, colorful plumage, and the fact that many of them bond with humans in a domestic situation. The birds that can mimic human speech are especially fun, because the bird can call its owner's name, its own name, or respond to visual cues.

Big Parrot Birds

Birds like Amazon parrots, African Grays, and macaws are a major part of a person's lifestyle. These birds require at least two hours of personal attention and interaction a day for good mental health, to learn tricks, and to develop a healthy bond with their owners. Big parrots come in the full rainbow of colors, and breeders continue to produce new combinations in captivity.

Pint Size Feathered Friends

Smaller parrot birds are not as high maintenance but can sometimes be as smart as their larger cousins. Any parrot, large or small, requires love and attention, but smaller birds are more convenient to keep in pairs or families, so they have other bonds besides with humans.

Lovebirds are an especially touching kind of parrot birds; they form a bond with a mate for life and so are kept in pairs. Most fanciers say a lovebird is healthier bonding with a partner than with a human. Keeping with their name and habits, lovebirds come in soft colors, gently blending from light green bodies to soft-looking pink faces.

The most common pet bird, the budgie, or budgerigar, is also a bird of the parrot family. Most common domestic species have wings that are black striped with the color of their breast, usually green, yellow, or blue. Breeders have also produced budgies in solid yellows and whites.