Pet birds come in an assortment of sizes. While they all need a cage, food and attention, the sizes of each vary. There are four main categories of birds. Soft bills include canaries and finches. Small Hook Bills include parakeets and budgies. Medium Hook Bills include cockatiels, lovebirds and conures. Finally, there are the parrots, which include all parrots, macaws and cockatoos.
Soft Bill Birds – Canaries and Finches
Canaries and finches are extremely active birds. They are always flying around their cages and making noises. Canaries are known for their lovely song and bright vivid colors. You can get a canary in red, yellow, brown, white or a brilliant mixture. Finches are fun to watch and range from inexpensive to expensive in prices. A finch will always be active hopping from perch to perch.
Small Hook Bills – Parakeets and Budgies
We call this group of birds Small Hook Bills because of the shape of their beaks. While soft bill birds have a pointy beak, parakeets and budgies as well as the rest of the hook bill birds have a beak shaped in a hook. This allows them to have a stronger beak to break seeds, hang and climb, and chew on toys.
Parakeets are a great starter bird. They are inexpensive and easy to care for. Some parakeets and budgies have been able to be hand trained so that you can interact with them more. However, most parakeets and budgies like to stay in their cage. They love new bird toys so you should always circulate them. Parakeets and budgies also like a variety of foods and treats to munch on.
Medium Hook Bills – Cockatiels and Lovebirds
Cockatiels are great family pets. They are usually hand-fed so cockatiels are well acquainted with human interaction. Lovebirds are also friendly but prefer the companionship of another lovebird – hence the name. They are available in an assortment of wonderful colors. Medium hook bill birds enjoy a mixture of sunflower seeds and smaller seeds such as millets.
Larger Hook Bills – Conures, Parrots and Macaws
These large birds and known for their intelligence, activeness and amazing speaking abilities. While some birds naturally can speak more (African Greys), some birds are not known to speak (Conures). All parrots need lots of toys to play with. Because their intelligence is so high, they tend to get bored very easily. A parrot without a toy to play with will begin plucking its own feathers. Because parrots need so much attention, be sure that you are ready before buying one.
