Various species of psittaciformes

Due to the vast scope of this topic I will be drafting the content in 2 parts.

Part 1

The psittaciformes commonly known as the parrots comprise of many species that are located mainly in the Southern Hemisphere in continents such as Asia, Australia, Africa and South America and may also be found in Central America. The psittaciformes live in rainforests with heavy rainfall and heavy vegetation and mainly eat fruits, nectar, seeds and fruits.

Amongst the various species of the psittaciformes the Alexandrian, African Grey, African lovebird, Budgies, Caiques, Cockatiels, Cockatoo, Indian Ring neck, Lorikeet, Macaw, Quaker Parrots, Senegal Parrots are the most common species kept as pets due to their ability to talk and ability to interact with humans and other companion pets.

The Alexandrian Parakeet is located mainly in Asia but is imported and bred in other parts of the world. This parakeet is green in color and measures 56 – 62 cms with a tail that can be as long as 35 cms. The males of this specie sport a red and black ring around their neck after they reach sexual maturity while the females do not sport any such ring. Although there are 5 sub species of the Alexandrian Parakeet the differences are very minor.

The African Grey Parrot is sold all over the world and due to their ability to mimic and talk they are the first choice for many people. This species grows up to 32 cms and can be considered medium – large in size with the male being larger than the female. The Congo sub species is native to the Africa continent and is primarily grey in color with a red or maroon tail and the area around the eyes is generally white. This species is known for its ability to talk and its ability to learn tricks very fast.

The African lovebird comprises of various variations and the peach love bird is the commonly kept species. There are 9 sub species of the lovebird out of which 8 originate from Africa while one specie originates from Madagascar. Lovebirds are small variations of the parrot and have a stock body with a hooked bill and their body size ranges from 13 – 19 cms.

The Budgerigar also known as the Budgie are commonly known as parakeets are the smallest of the psittaciformes and their body size ranges from 6 – cms excluding the tail. The color of the pet budgie ranges from yellow, blue, green to white as opposed to the wild counterpart which is primarily yellow or green and has green under parts. Male budgies can be differentiated from females as after reaching sexual maturity males have blue ceres where as females have pink ceres. Males that have not matured can also have pink ceres but the color can also be purplish – pink in color.

The Caique is a brightly colored parrot that originates from the Amazon region. This specie is commonly referred to as the seven colored parrot due to various colors on its body. The Black headed Caique and the White Bellied Caique are the 2 subspecies that can be found and are epidemic to the South American continent. Although there is little difference in the personality of these 2 subspecies the White Bellied Caique is the expensive variety of the two since it is not as common as the Black headed Caique. Caiques are a popular choice for pets as they have outgoing and lovable personalities and make loyal pets.

The Cockatiel is a small sized bird of the Cacatuidae family and has an erectable crest like the Cockatoo. The Cockatiel can live for 12 – 20 years depending on the care provided by its owner and there are instances of Cockatiels living up to the ripe age of 30 years. The Cockatiel’s body size is a little smaller than the Alexandrian Parrot and the Cockatiel’s tail is long and tapered. The color of the body can range from grey, yellow to a snowy white according to the variation. Wild Cockatiels and the commonly found Cockatiels are grey in color with an orange patch on the cheeks and a prominent white patch on the wings.

The Cockatoo is a large sized bird of the Cacatuidae family that can live up to 120 years and is known for its loveable personality and talking ability. The Cockatoo comprises of 40 sub species that originate in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia and the sub species can be divided into 2 main categories being the White Cockatoo and the Black Cockatoo. Amongst the 40 sub species the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, the Red Tail Black Cockatoo, the Umbrella Cockatoo and the Mollucan Cockatoo are the 5 varieties that are commonly kept as pets. Cockatoos are prone to self destructive behavior such as feather plucking and self mutilation and in order to avoid these problems an owner must train the bird from an early age and should provide toys on a regular basis to ensure that the bird is physically and mentally stimulated.

The remaining species of the psittaciformes will be covered in part 2.