I have heard many people voice the following concerns about owning a parrot- 1) They are messy. 2) They are loud. 3) They can bite. 4) They can live a very long time. 5) They can have emotional problems. 6) They have a very short attention span. 7) They are a lot of work. Every one of these statements is absolutely true! But in fairness, those statement describe my children,too!

That is a very good analogy, children and parrots. They biggest difference is that the children generally grow up and leave home. The real point is that you should think about getting a parrot in the same way you should think about having children. Do you have the desire, space, time, energy, and financial resources to care for a bird?

If the answer is, yes, then what bird do you get? You can read a lot of articles telling you what species of bird you need to buy in different circumstances. These are not really bad, but birds have personalities regardless of species. It is fine to say African Greys are one person birds, as a general rule, but I have seen many exceptions to that rule. I have heard that Scarlet Macaws are beaky. Most are, but some aren’t. They point is that what you really want is a bird that you can live with and that may or may not be a particular species.

I did a lot of research before I bought my first bird, a small Senegal parrot and a few years later when I bought my macaw. Boy did I luck out. I have two wonderful birds. They both have issues, but nothing I can’t deal with. Many people aren’t so lucky. Remember that the people at the pet store just want to sell you the bird. If it doesn’t work out, that’s your problem, not the store’s.

Then how do you get the right bird? The answer is adoption. This site supports Melbourne Avian Rescue Sanctuary. At MARS you can see a lot of different birds and if you pick one that doesn’t work out, you can bring it back and find one that does work with you and your family. So, it’s not like buying as used car. You are not getting someone else’s problem bird. Birds are given up for many reasons. Their owner died, went in a nursing home, got married to a non-bird person, moved and can’t take the bird with them, or simply shouldn’t have bought it in the first place.

Remember, think before you get a bird. Then don’t shop, Adopt!