This site aims to give valuable information on what life living with a parrot is truly like. It is written and organized for new and potential parrot guardians in an attempt to educate and perhaps deter the purchase of a parrot from a pet shop/breeder so that more parrots will be able to stay in their first homes, and so that more parrots living in rescue organizations will be adopted into loving homes. It also provides information for new parrot guardians to enhance the life of parrots in captivity.
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Use the navigation on the left-hand side of each topic page on this site. The topic pages are:
- Social Needs -- describes the social and intellectual needs of birds.
- Diet & Nutrition -- describes the dietary needs of birds and nutritional considerations.
- Housing -- describes the caging and environmental needs of parrots.
- Species Specific -- describes some of the popular species of birds in captivity.
- Unwanted -- details the problem of unwanted birds.
On each topic page you will see a listing of related articles on the left-hand side of the page, and also at the bottom of every page. Use these articles to get additional information on certain topics. You can also visit our About page to learn more about the site's author and for contact information.
What is a parrot?
A parrot is a type of exotic bird that has a hooked beak and feet where two toes point forward and two point backward. There are many different species of parrots that are kept in captivity as pets. There are some other birds that are commonly kept in captivity, such as canaries and finches. These birds are not parrots, they are part of the passerine family of birds, and while most of the information on this website could pertain to these birds, the focus is on parrot-type birds. Visit the Species page to learn more about different species of parrots that you might be interested in. The terms "exotic birds" and "parrots" are used interchangeably on this site.
Exotic birds are now one of the most popular kind of animals kept as pets today. However, one of the biggest differences between parrots and other pets is that parrots are not domesticated. While birds have been kept in captivity for quite a while, they have not been bred for specific traits that would allow them to live easily with humans. Exotic birds are technically still wild animals. They retain all of their instinctual behaviors and will behave the same as their wild cousins in the jungles and grasslands around the world. This means that they have strong urges to behave certain ways that may make life in captivity difficult and frustrating for both the bird and the bird's guardian.
If you are thinking of adding an exotic bird to your family, please read through this site carefully. If you have additional questions about keeping birds, please feel free to email me. I would be happy to answer your questions or direct you to someone else who can.
Articles on this topic:
Please feel free to email me if you have any unanswered questions about parrots!
