Melopsittacus undulatus

Budgies (budgerigars) are an extremely popular pet bird, and for good reason. These small parrots make delightful pets, and are usually friendly and easy to tame. While they can sometimes be difficult to understand, they are quite capable of mimicking speech.

Budgies are sometimes also called parakeets (specifically shell parakeets) as they are members of the parakeet family. There are also two types of budgies - the American budgie or parakeet, and the English budgie. The American variety is the one most commonly found in pet stores, while type often seen in exhibitions and shows is the English budgie. English budgies are larger and have a different appearance than American budgies, but all budgies belong to the same species, Melopsittacus undulatus.

Life span: 10-15 years (up to 20).

Origin: Australia.

Colors: the normal wild coloration is green with black bars on the wings, back and head. Mature females have a tan or beige cere (the fleshy part around the nostrils) and the males have a bluish cere, but this is unreliable in some color variations and young birds of both sexes have pink ceres. Young budgies have bar markings on the forehead that recede with age, and their eyes have dark irises that gradually become grey with age, but again this doesn't necessarily hold true for all colors. Through selective breeding a huge variety of colors and patterns are available, such as violet, blue, yellow, pied, albino, and more.

Gentle and docile bird, very easy to tame if acquired at a young age.

Pairs of birds make good company for each other, but usually will not bond as well with their owners or mimic speech as well. A single bird is fine, as long as you spend a significant amount of time interacting with the budgie on a daily basis.

Very playful and active, and quieter than some other parrots (although they can still be noisy).

Nymphicus hollandicus

Cockatiel parrots regularly live for 12 to 20 years and some have been reported to live for up to 30 years. Cockatiels parrots are members of the Cockatoo family. In the wild cockatiels have grey body feathers, yellow faces feathers, a yellow crest and orange cheek patches, with the males having brighter and more yellow around the face than the females. Domestic breeding has produced several color variations, including cinnamon, silver and pearl.
Cockatiel parrots are small parrots, measuring about twelve inches from beak to tail tip and weighing in at three to four ounces when mature. They will reach mature size at about nine months. Young cockatiels will begin to molt at about six months and will molt annually thereafter. The young have lighter coloring than the adults, have pink or light grey beaks, are more slender and the feathering on their heads will be incomplete. The sex of young cockatiels is difficult to determine because their coloring is not as pronounced as that of mature cockatiels.
The cockatiel is originally from Australia. They are found everywhere in Australia except in Tasmania and on the coastal regions. In the wild they are nomads, normally living in flocks of about twelve, following the food, roosting and nesting in desert vegetation, close to water. During breeding season, wild cockatiels will flock with hundreds of cockatiels and other birds. Australia placed a ban on exporting cockatiels in 1894. Therefore, all cockatiels sold as pets in the United States come from captive breeding stock.
They are very social and friendly birds which makes them an excellent pet bird. They also get along well with non-parrot birds. Cockatiels are comfortable in or out of their bird cages and prefer a cage with plenty of room to exercise.
Cockatiels have a powder on their feathers that they use to groom themselves. This powder will leave a dusty film on cages and in the rooms where they spend time. Humans with may be sensitive to this powder and should be aware of this before making the decision to a cockatiel.

Agapornis

There are several species of lovebirds (genus Agapornis and but the most commonly found species in the pet trade include peach faced lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis, masked lovebirds (Agapornis personata) and Fischer's lovebirds (Agapornis fischeri). There are many color mutations found in peach faced lovebirds and several mutations in some of the other species, so there are many color variations of lovebirds available.

Lovebirds are small, compact parrots about 5-6 inches in length.

Up to 15 years or more.

Very active, curious, and playful, lovebirds pack a lot of personality into a small package. They are also feisty little birds. They are very social and form deep bonds with their owners and are sometimes very cuddly birds, but their intense personalities can also make them prone to nipping and territorial aggressiveness and jealousy. Hand-raised babies make the best pets. Some experts believe that females are more prone to jealousy and territoriality than males.

Hand-raised babies definitely make the best pets. Still, regular handling and training are needed to maintain a tame lovebird (so a hand raised baby that hasn't been handled much as it gets older may be hard to hand tame again). If getting an older lovebird try to find one that was hand raised and has been handled regularly and has some training. Older lovebirds that are not hand tamed may require of patience for taming.

A common myth about keeping lovebirds is that they should always be kept in pairs. If you have more than one lovebird they may become more deeply bonded to each other that to you. A single lovebird will do well, as long as it gets the social interaction, contact, affection, and attention that it needs from its human family members. If you are short on time to spend with your lovebird, then it is best to get him or her a companion, though.

While not as loud as some larger parrots, lovebirds can produce a loud high pitched screech, especially if looking for your attention. Their normal chirps and squawks are not overly loud, but they do like to chatter. As a general rule, they are not known for their ability to mimic speech or sounds, although there are exceptions. Some say females are more apt to mimic sounds or speech than males.

Lovebirds should be fed a variety of foods as discused in Parrot Nutrition. A pelleted (see tips on switching to pellets if necessary) can form the basis of the diet, supplemented by a variety of fresh foods and some seeds (seeds should make up less than 25 percent of the total diet). A cuttlebone can be provided for extra calcium. If your bird is stubborn about trying new foods, see Introducing New Foods to Picky Eaters for tips.

Poicephalus senegalus

The Senegal Parrot is a Poicephalus parrot which is a resident breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which make up its diet. It is considered a farm pest in Africa, often feeding on maize or millet.It is popular in aviculture. Poicephalus senegalus senegalus (yellow vest)

A pair of Senegal Parrots in the wild at Hann Park, Dakar, Senegal There are three subspecies. They do not differ in behaviour, but only in the colour of the "vest".In the pet trade, the nominate subspecies is the most common though all three are raised and sold as pets. P. s. senegalus (the nominate subspecies): this subspecies has a yellow vest; its native range includes southern Mauritania, southern Mali to Guinea and Lobos Island. P. s. mesotypus: this subspecies has an orange vest; its range is from eastern and northeastern Nigeria and Cameroon into southwest Chad. P. s. versteri: this subspecies has a deep-orange/red vest; its range is from the Ivory Coast and Ghana east to western Nigeria.