I might be new to this forum, but new to forums. I used to spend countless hours answering questions on Repticzone on Bearded Dragons. I now find myself being the newbie as I begin my next adventure and thats looking for the right parrot. I'm a beginner and was thinking along the lines of a green cheeked Amazon, or possibly a mini-mccaw. If you have any comments please share. Thanks. ~ Brian

A beginner huh, and you are going after either an amazon or a macaw ... this is how good birds go bad ... at least you have some animal experience so there is a fighting chance here.

I am not familiar with a green cheeked amazon, is it possible you meant a green cheeked conure? I think that conures are great birds to start out with. They are lovable, and WANT to interact with their humans and they are really playful. They can be everything you would want in a compaion bird. The species name ARATINGA (which is all central/south american conures) literally translated means "little macaw". Their BIG BIRDIE attitudes come in manageble LITTLE BIRDIE sizes (most conures aren't any larger than 14 inches from beak to tail).

That being said, there is at least one drawback, I asure you they make a whole lot more noise than any bearded dragon. We are talking "eviction notice" noise here. BUT, if you learn how to controll it, it's not a problem (side note here, conures who have all their needs met, DO NOT YELL on a regular basis).

No matter which type of bird you decide to go with (as with any new pet) please, please, please do your research first. Get as much info on the breed as you can, (cage requirments, out of cage time, behaviors and most importantly NUTRITIONAL NEEDS ... you can not feed a bird just seed).

We love to answer questions here, infact there are MANY GREAT SOURCES of info here ... Encyclopedia PETA for example seems to have as many answers as you have questions ... The only thing we ask in return is a small fee ... WE LOVE PICTURES, so when you finally make a choice, we need to see the little bugga

~ Tex and Hamlet (this morning pearched on my finger watching what is going on)

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Oh how I wish that were true.

Welcome Brian great to have you join us, Mini macaws I love those little fellas,

I think with these species of bird you are gonna have to do a lot of research, but being an animal guy, I'm sure you know that, look into the area you live in are you in an apartment, do you have close neighbours who may not appreciate the noise level these birds could make. I do hate to say will make as not all birds, that the book says are noisey will be. Do you have the time for the bird to have plenty of out of cage time, but all birds will need plenty of out of cage time, do you have the time for training and keeping the birds entertained etc etc, the list is long. I think as long as you do a lot of research on whatever species you decide to go for then you should have no problem.

Good luck to you, keep us informed and as Tex said the fee is lots of pics.

I can't say I've ever heard of a green-cheeked amazon either.

2turtles has a Hahn's Macaw, so she could probably help you with some question about the Mini's

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NICOLE

"If the Grey is the college intellectual then the Amazon is the class clown!"

There is indeed a green cheek or more proper the mexican red head amazon. Check out this site, its a quick sum up of their parrots and check out their ratings aswell.

They have appearance, talkability, friendliness and cost. I heard about it too and thought they meant the GCC but no, its really a GCA!

The site, home.stny.rr.com/petbirds/birds.html

I personally think that amazons make great pets, but read up on behaviour as much as you can and problems that may occur eg stress, plucking, screaming. Remember diet is always important. The blue fronted is also the best known and you may want to look into them.

Heres also a nice sum up of different kinds of amazons, www.tntie.com/royalbirdcompany/greencheek.htm! Hope u find what ur looking for!

Let us know how u get on!

Wilma!!!

WELCOME! I would never get an amazon as a first bird I know some people might disagree but from what I've heard they are very challeging I would reccomend starting off with something small and see if you get into the whole birdy thing they aren't for everyone after a little while with the smaller bird if you turn out to be a birdy person you won't bea bale to contain yourself when it comes to getting another
BTW I second Tex' reccomendation on conures Sidney always keeps me giggleing as he swings around the cage he knows when you are watching and loves to preform all sorts of crazy stunts!!!

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Welcome Brian

I have a bearded dragon myself, quite the little sweetie actually. However parrots are like having children completly different from any other animals. Personally I wouldn't start with an amazon or even a mini macaw.

Amazons are great birds but they are very smart and many times quite demanding. They can bite very hard and are very loud. They can be probably some of the most agrressive of parrots especially around mating season. I have an amazon and she doesn't fit this description at all except for being loud, woah can she scream!!!

Mini macaws are probably a better choice then a amazon but still not the best bird to start with.

Great starter parrots I would recommend would be any type of conure, senegals, meyers, jardines, pionus, any smaller to medium sized birds. These are generally a little less demanding, quieter, with big huge personalities.

I know from experience that I will always have a senegal what a big personality.

You can always start with a macaw or amazon if your up to it, they are great fun and every individual bird is different.

Hope this helps and if you want any information about any type of species they're lots of people here that know plenty of good stuff.

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WOW! I would have never guessed, I stand corrected ... how come 'encyclopedia Peta' didn't know about this one?

Again, I would have to agree with the rest of the board here ... a smaller parrot ... A senegal, a conure, Jardine's Parrot (they are a beautiful green color). I also thought of another one that no one has yet to mention ... how about a Caique? NOW THERE'S A LITTLE BIRD WITH A LOT OF ATTITUDE AND LOTS OF FUN (almost got one when I was looking between those and Hamlet, what a little character he was ... wish I could have both ... he was too much money though ... )

There are a lot of great 'medium' sized parrots out there ... check into these guys and make sure that this is a decision that you really want to get into, remember birds are long lived (thank heavens, I want to have Ham around as long as I can ... as long as he stops pinching my neck ... OWW!)
small to medium parrots can live as long as 30 years.

Also you will learn that birds are addictive (can I get an 'Amen' from the congregation)... I think that I am the only really active member who only has one bird, and that's just because it wouldn't be fair to add another to the flock right now, as I don't have a lot of extra time to give.

I hope that your head is spinning with all the info we have given you ... hopefully we haven't chased you away ... collectively, we can all talk on this subject for hours!

~ Tex and tonight from "the conure spot", Hamlet

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also, what about a a pionus? they are very cute birds! the breeder where i got my tiels from had a pair of those, they were so adorable and freindly. Also a red belly parrot, the breeder where i got my tiels from also had those... they looked cute... and not super huge or anything....i dont know much about them i just saw the babies she was handfeeding in the incubater, although she said they were quite playful!

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I'm also with the gang on a smaller parrot. Looks like everyone forgets about ringnecks? I love mine, he is the sweetest and most lovable parakeet i ever had. I have him for 10 years now and he is a joy. Talks like hell, and is extremely the cuddly type.

But i'd also recommend pionus, senegal, caique and all ringneck types like the indian, moustache, etc. They are really adorable. If your up to it you can start with a conure, but look into all the different types, some can be really loud so just make sure you are aloud to have a loud bird or can take the noise.

Good luck.