Pet parrots

Pet parrots

The earliest known captive pet birds were from the parrot family. There are records of Alexander the Great bringing ring-necked parakeets with him from India to Europe. Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) were first seen alive in Europe in 1840, and over the next 40 years many tens of thousands were imported from Australia. From the naturally found, predominantly green-coloured, yellow-faced bird a huge variety of colours has been produced, although a red budgerigar has yet to be bred! Adult male birds of most colours (but not lutinos, which have yellow feathers and pink eyes, or albinos, with white feathers and pink eyes) have a blue cere; adult females have a brown cere.

The best time to obtain a pet budgie is when it first leaves the nest, at around 6 weeks old. At that time the bird has feathers edged with black or brown, that give a barred appearance to the frontal region (forehead) above the cere (Fig. 7.2). These barred feathers are moulted at the first partial moult about 2 months later, leaving the forehead a plain colour. Male ‘barheads’ have a pinkish cere with a blue tinge; however, this is not a reliable guide to gender. Also, females bite far harder than males, even when still babies in the nest! It is unfortunate that budgerigar breeders have developed what is known as a buff plumage for their show birds. The buff feathers are very large and appear to have deformed barbules as they do not unite to form a normal contour feather shape. Buff feathers have a hairy appearance. Breeders’ budgerigars also tend to live only about 4 years. ‘Mongrel’ pet budgerigars seem to live far longer, and 8 years is average, although the author has seen a budgerigar, with a dated closed- ring, of 21 years.

The cockatiel was named by a bird-fancier, Mr Jamrach, being an English adaptation of a Dutch/Portuguese word for little cockatoo (Newton 1896). By the end of the nineteenth century the cockatiel was already a popular pet caged bird and has remained so ever since. The general grey colour, with orange cheeks and a distinct head crest, is present in males and females. However, the male has a yellow face and crest while the female is grey; the male's orange cheeks are brighter; the tail and wing feathers are solid grey in the male, whereas they are mottled grey and white (especially underneath), in females. Cockatiels of this coloration are termed ‘normals’, but there are many colour variants – lutino (yellow), white, fallow (with a brownish tint), etc. Immature birds resemble females.

The cockatiel is a peaceful, active, cheerful bird that mimics well; it deserves its popularity and would be the author's first choice for anyone wanting a pet bird. It is also relatively cheap to purchase, house and keep.

Grey parrots are very popular pets, and are hardy, medium-sized (450–500 g) birds. The reason for this parrot's popularity is its talking and mimicking ability; erithacus means mimetic. Unlike the popular ‘mynah birds’ (which are not in fact mynahs but grackles, Gracula religiosa), these parrots will learn new words and noises throughout their lives. They are usually friendly throughout their entire lives but hand-reared birds do often feather-pluck, especially when sexually mature. A large cage or small indoor aviary is required to keep them happy. Like all parrots, when kept on their own they need to fly around and have a lot of human contact, but are destructive and should not be left unattended. They tend not to like water, either as a bath or when sprayed. However, it is still necessary to spray them or let them bathe at least weekly to keep their plumage in good condition. Grey parrots also tend very quickly to become ‘hooked’ on a seed-only diet.

The Timneh grey parrot is smaller and more subdued in colour. It is, however, as satisfactory as a pet as its close relative. Its treatment should be the same.

To some extent the age of many species of parrot can be deduced from the iris. This structure is important to the bird as its movement is effected by skeletal muscle and is therefore under conscious control. The bird can use the iris to signal to other birds (owners and vets) by expanding the iris to cause a flash of colour. During the first year of life of parrots such as greys, Amazons and macaws the colour of their iris slowly changes. Newly weaned birds have blue/brown irises, which change to yellow in greys and large macaws, or orange in Amazons. (See also Chapter 3 Figs 3.7–3.10Fig. 7Fig. 8Fig. 9Fig. 10.) Some species of cockatoo have a brown iris if female and a black iris if male, while in the juvenile it is a neutral hazel colour. As parrots become sexually mature the iris brightens, while in later life the iris becomes thinner and less pigmented, and in old age there are often degenerative eye changes such as cataracts (Clubb & Karpinski 1993). Old age is considered to be 45 to 50 years in macaws, and 35 years in greys and Amazons. Reports of a life expectancy of 100 years are rarely true.