Conure vs Meyer vs etc

For the past year I have been considering getting a more advanced bird as a step up from my budgie that I have taken care of for 5 years. As strange as it sounds I want to have a bigger bird opposed to a small bird like a budgie. However I'm not talking huge like cockatoos and macaws. Budgies are small and do everything very rapidly such as stepping up. This is very difficult to explain, but I would like a bird that because is larger, he/she steps ups slower, is heavier, and feels like more to handle. Whichever bird i get, It will be a single bird. I live in a rather large condo so a quieter bird would be better. However, it doesn't have to be dead silent all day, a few loud squawks here and there OR constant chattering is fine, just not constant loud squawking that sun conures are infamous for. I think that maybe the fact that the condo is in the middle of the city surrounded by traffic beeps and honks would help, perhaps making loud squawks sound less extreme to neighbors? I have always been interested in conures since i admire the little ring of white around their eyes which i find adorable. I have pretty much eliminated sun conures from the list due to their noisyness, but could i get away with it if i got a female (again i live in a noisy city but don't be afraid to tell me i shouldn't)? How about a female GCC? I know they aren't as noisy as sun conures and as long as she doesn't scream constantly for the entire day, i will be fine. a scream here and there is acceptable and so is regular chatter. One behavior i notice with conures and other birds is eating with the feet. What i mean by this is for example holding a piece of popcorn with a foot while munching out of it. Do all conures do this? What about Quakers, meyers, or any other species that anyone would like to suggest to me. I have looked at local breeders and see that in addition to conures, they have quaker parrots and meyer parrots. Do they cuddle as much as conures? Do they have that awesome eating with foot behavior. What about their sound level. Please suggest any other species.

GCC's are adorable. Many people on here own them, so I am sure they will chime in. Myers have a hi pitch tone to their call, they are not necessarily noisy birds, but they can definitely have their moments. The same goes for Senegal's. If you have a lot of traffic noise outside, whatever bird you acquire may pick up on those sounds and lovingly bring them inside for you to enjoy. My Sennie has picked up on the sounds of the aviary next door, particularly the cockatiels, so now she sounds like a cockatiel. All the birds I have mentioned, could live in an apartment. Just remember they all will at some point make noise, loud noise.

I have owned a Quaker as my first bird but now currently have a white bellied caique. I love him so much!! He is super playful, smart and isn't that loud. I live in a small apartment complex and my neighbors didn't even know I had a bird. That's not saying he's not loud, but he's so busy playing most of the time that his screams aren't that bad. Caiques are VERY feet oriented and love foot toys. They have a eye ring on their eyes too. If you want a playful, sweet, always-on-the-go bird, then I would suggest a caique!! On the flip side, they don't just sit on your shoulder or a perch and hang out with you. They need play time and interaction. If you google search caiques (white bellied or black headed) then there is TONS of information about them. YouTube some videos of them and you'll fall in love. Haha

Not saying conures aren't a good choice, but I've never owned one. I've heard most conures are quite loud though. I fell in love with gold-capped conures, blue crowned conures and green cheek conures though. I'm sure I'll own a conure one day!!

Yup a loud noise every now and then is ok. And by CGC i'm assuming is a typo for GCC? A female GCC is my number one choice and if ok for a condo, would likely be my choice. I just moved into the condo, a 53 floor skyscraper only a couple years old, and a lot of it is still empty. The unit is all the way on the 52nd floor so its pretty high. Should i keep the cage near the window that high. If not where? Should i close the curtains whenever my bird is out of her cage? And yeah caiques are very cute, they almost look distantly related to conures.

I wouldn't put a bird right in front of a window due to the cold, but near a window would be fine. I don't see why you couldn't keep the curtains open. If you get a baby, maybe keep them only partially open at first until the baby is used to its new home. I don't think the height of your window is gonna matter too much. Just don't have the window open when the bird is out.

the windows don't even open so thats nothing to worry about, but there is a balcony, even that high, so i have to be careful. Im afraid of heights so I'll never go on the balcony. Its a modern skyscraper so the windows are very large almost spanning the entire length and height of the wall. My budgie often flew into windows (thankfully nothing bad ever happened) which is why I wondered if closing the curtains would help, or is it not necessary.

Well, I don't keep my curtains closed and my bird hasn't flown into the window. I guess you will just have to judge the bird when you get it and see if its trying to go towards the windows. Haha

I had a GCC...and loved him! He was fabulous and I honestly can not think of anything negative to say about him... he was the ideal bird in every way. He was not loud, he loved to snuggle and to play, he liked people, and was my baby.

Sadly he was killed by our dog when i was not home and, when I was ready for another bird, I couldn't bring myself to get another GCC. I love my Pippin (an IRN) but Wilbur was special in a way I have never experienced with ANY pet I have ever owned.

If we get another bird down the road, I would get another conure.

does anyone have anything to say about sun conures? Would even a female sun conure be too risky in a unit? There happen to be a lot of breeders and pet stores around me with sun conures. How about Quaker parrots? A lot of breeders and bird stores around me have them. Maybe it has something to do with being in chicago.