It is therefore necessary for you to decide which characteristics are the most important to you. A few examples: (1) If you work long hours or travel frequently, you should pick a species that can entertain itself in your absence and will not become neurotic or frightened if someone else must care for them while you're away. (2) If you have small children you may want to pick one of the more gentle species, as the bite of a parrot can be quite painful to small fingers (and big ones as well!); and small children should really not be allowed to handle the larger birds until they are old enough to know how to handle the bird properly. (Many adults' fear of birds stems from a painful nip they received as a child, and they usually don't get over this fear.) (3) If you live in an apartment or have neighbors who would complain, you should pick a quieter species. (4) If you want a bird to cuddle, hug and pet, there are birds that fit this category. (5) If you want a talker, then pick one of the species better known for the talking ability. I should caution you here that the better talking species won't always talk well, and I have often seen species that weren't known for their talking ability talk up a blue streak! (Those individual personalities again!) If this is very important to you might want to pick a baby that has already learned a word or two. A word to the wise - keep in mind that the cute phrases the bird says may be entertaining at first but you will tire of them, and a bird that talks non-stop can be nerve-racking. Consider that this should not be your sole reason for wanting a bird.

Many species of parrots possess many of these characteristics - some people think their own special pet possesses all of these characteristics, but they're probably looking through rose-colored glasses. On the other hand, if they think their parrot is perfect, than it must be perfect for them!

Keep in mind that everyone's tolerance levels for noise, nips and mess differs. I have heard some say that even the quietest birds are too noisy to suit them. All birds should make some noise if they're healthy. While you can train them to a certain extent to control the noise, if you can't stand any noise maybe you should consider a different pet, or at least have an area or room where you can place the bird when you're not in the mood to listen to it. Many birds have certain pitches, that while not necessary loud, can be very annoying to some people and not bother others a bit.

Regarding noise levels of birds, I think its important to distinguish between a birds natural call, and screaming or other learned behaviors. When I'm speaking of noise level in the context of this manuscript, I am referring to the natural call. Most birds use their natural call sometimes in the morning, at the normal feeding time, and shortly before they retire for the night. The times for their natural call will vary from species to species, as well as among individuals, but they usually will be on a certain schedule and at the same times each day. These "calls" last only a short period of time, about five minutes or so, and should not be discouraged, as they are part of a healthy birds normal behavior, and if this "calling" is restricted it will affect your birds mental health and well-being.

Constant screaming, on the other hand, is a learned behavior, and often is unknowingly being reinforced in some way by the owner's reaction to it. Remember that screaming at a screaming parrot will only make the situation worse, and you need to determine the reason behind the screaming in order to correct it. Also remember that if a parrot screaming to achieve a desired result, such as letting him out of his cage and you oblige him, you are only reinforcing this behavior. I can't go into all the aspects of behavior training, nor am I qualified to do so, but I think its important that you understand that when I refer to noise level of any particular species, I am referring to their natural call, which should not be discouraged. You will often find with many species that some "learned" sounds or noises can be much more distracting and irritating than the bird's natural call.

Keep in mind you can adjust the time when your bird chooses to exercise its natural call. If your bird does this at the crack of dawn, and you like to sleep late, you may want to adjust the bird's "day" by using artificial lighting set on timers to suit your schedule, or simply place your bird in a dark room where no natural light can enter until you open the shades or turn on the lights. However, please don't keep your bird in a darkened room all the time, as this will make for a very unhappy, depressed and generally unhealthy bird. Its also good to keep in mind that most parrots tend to emulate their surroundings to a certain extent; thus if your household is a fairly noisy one, with stereos and TVs playing loudly and children or adults yelling loudly, those birds will usually be much noisier than birds living in quiet households. Most parrots also get noisier when there are loud appliances, such as a vacuum cleaner, running. (All my parrots love to holler along with the vacuum!)

This same tolerance level also applies to pain - what some people may consider a very painful bite, doesn't even phase a seasoned parrot owner. You should keep in mind that all parrots, handfed or not, will bite at some point - maybe not right away, but believe me your lovely baby parrot will at some time get downright mad at you and let you know it. It's up to you to learn what the bird is trying to tell you when they bite, and then you can learn to control it, or at least know when your birds not in the mood for being handled or pet. If your bird is usually friendly and likes to be held, respect his feelings when he's not in the mood, and don't force yourself on him. You cannot expect to dominate a parrot the way you would dominate a dog, as they are entirely different creatures, and parrots are not yet considered domesticated even if they were domestic bred (rasied in captivity). Once you learn your birds quirks, you should be able to control this behavior, or at least be able to avoid getting bit. One thing I can tell you for sure, if you're terrified of getting bit and can't overcome that fear, than you definitely don't want to get a parrot. I repeat, and I can't stress this enough, PARROTS DO BITE. If you can't handle this, and the first bite will send you into a tantrum to get rid of that "vicious" bird, or intimidate you to the point that you'll never attempt to handle the bird again, PLEASE DON'T BUY A PARROT.

While on this subject, I should inform you of the "teething" habits of newly weaned or very young baby parrots. They will put their beak over your fingers and kind of chew - it doesn't hurt and it merely the baby's way of exploring things that are new to him. However, you should not let your baby continuing to "teeth" on you this way, as his grip will get stronger as he gets older and, it will begin to hurt (more like an actual bite), and your bird won't really understand why you no longer let him partici-pate in this activity. Better to teach him right away that fingers aren't for chewing on - you do this with a firm "No", pull your fingers away, and give him a toy to chew on. This will make your baby's growing-up time a lot easier on him and you alike.

By the same token, if you are very persnickety about a spot-less house, and can't stand a little dust and food scattered about the cage, you had better be prepared to be cleaning a lot. Parrots do have a lot of dander, in fact some species even have a feather dust that you can feel on your fingers after stroking them. This can cause problems for people with severe allergies or asthma. They will also scatter food, tear up toys and news-paper, and have a great time doing it! This can be controlled to a certain extent with certain kinds of cages, cage skirts and cage aprons, but rest assured they will not contain all the mess. There are some plexiglass cages available that will contain the mess, but make sure there is adequate fresh air circulation. Again, this is a matter of personal opinion. I like to keep the cages fairly clean, and definitely free of any odor or old decay-ing foods. However, my pet birds don't live in our living room - they have their own "cage room", as well as a playpen room right off of our living area. I'm therefore not particularly bothered if my birds get a few feathers or nut shells scattered around their cages or playpens, but this arrangement is not possible for everyone, and some people have no tolerance for even the slight-est mess

You should consider all of these things, as well as how your spouse or housemates will feel about them. Often one person loves the bird dearly, but a spouse cannot tolerate it, and this can make a person's life miserable. The bird will be able to sense if someone dislikes them, and will learn to become quite obnoxious towards that person, making the situation even worse. I've even known of couples who divorced because they couldn't come to terms about their parrot. So if you're the one wanting the bird, and your spouse or housemate doesn't, at least find out if you can come to some sort of agreement or common ground (before you have to come to the difficult choice of who stays and who goes!).

Forgive me for being long-winded, but I think all these things are important, and now FINALLY, I will get down to what I perceive to be the best, as well as the worst, characteristics of the most commonly available domestic parrots.

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