I came across a great article today written by the talented Rebecca K O’Connor.   It’s called 10 Facts About Owning A Pet Parrot, and I think every potential bird owner should read it. Here’s one of my favorite bits that most people don’t often think about:

“We have selectively bred cats and dogs for thousands of years, but we have mostly kept our parrots wild. With the exception of maybe budgies and cockatiels, most parrots have not been bred for color, features or temperament. In fact, we can trace the lineage of most parrots back two or three generations from the wild. Where dogs and cats have been domesticated, parrots have simply been tamed. What does this mean? It means a very different kind of pet in your home from your favorite dog or cat.”

You may or may not be surprised at this, but most people that come up to us and ask about Izzy (or any bird in a pet store) don’t realize that the parrot they are looking at and cuddling is still pretty much a wild animal.

Baby Izzy at the pet store

You certainly wouldn’t want to snuggle a tiger in a zoo, right? I mean tigers and such are obviously wild. But parrots? No way! They’re colorful and they talk, so they must be domesticated… Wrong. I have lost count of how many people I have (thankfully) talked out of buying a bird after realizing the level of care and attention they need. One person actually replied “You mean he can’t stay in his cage and eat seed? What if I feed him Cheetos and stuff?” Wow. Just wow.

Anyways, what I’m getting at is if you are considering getting a companion bird you NEED to go read that article. I could preach to you till I’m blue in the face, but she summed it up very nicely and in words anyone can understand.