Ah, the "bird lighting" controversy! It really isn't a controversy at all, as artificial/full-spectrum/UV lighting for birds is totally worthless. And there is simple science that explains why it is worthless. As far as lighting the room that your bird is going to be in, as Sailboat recommended above, just buy some LED lights and fixtures at Lowes or Home Depot, do not waste your money on ANY special, artificial "bird lighting", as not only does it do nothing similar to natural sunlight, it can actually harm your bird in the long-run.
Here's the skinny: I think we can all agree that nothing is going to replace natural sunlight for ANY type of pet. That being said, there are certain pets that absolutely REQUIRE and must have a specialty artificial light as a part of their habitat, and without them they will develop horrible diseases and eventually die. These types of pets are basically the reptiles and amphibians...Why? Because most (not all, but most) reptiles and amphibians bodies will not produce ANY Vitamin D3 without a certain amount of UVB lighting every single day. And though you can feed them a Vitamin D3 supplement, it just doesn't work. And why is it so important that their bodies be able to manufacture Vitamin D3? Because without their bodies manufacturing natural Vitamin D3, they cannot absorb, process, or use ANY of the Calcium that they ingest in either their food or in Calcium supplements they are fed. And what happens if they can't absorb any of the Calcium they ingest? Well, basically EVERY SINGLE PROCESS in the bodies of most living creatures requires Calcium to happen, from nerve and brain function to immune system response to muscle contractions. So without their bodies being able to absorb, process, and use the Calcium that they ingest in their food and Calcium supplements, their bodies must start leeching the Calcium out of their bones in order to perform all of their vital bodily functions...like moving and breathing. The result of this at first is the development of Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), then paralysis, severe bone deformities, and then death. So how do we keep our pet Reptiles and Amphibians bodies manufacturing Vitamin D3, thus making them able to absorb, process, and use the Calcium that they ingest in their food and Calcium supplements that we feed them? Well, we either get them out under Natural Sunlight for 2 hours a day, or we put them under a strong enough and SAFE artificial UVB light for at least 12 hours a day. And are all UVB lights created equal? Hell no. That's why I emphasized "strong enough" and "safe" artificial UVB lights...Reptile owners who buy either Compact (regular lightbulb shape) or Coil (spiral bulbs that fit into regular lightbulb sockets) find that their Reptiles and Amphibians still develop slight to moderate Metabolic Bone Disease...Why? Because both Compact and Coil UVB bulbs emit very low amounts of UVB light by nature of design, not nearly enough to keep their bodies producing enough Vitamin D3 to keep their Calcium levels high enough...And the most horrible thing that Reptile and Amphibian owners go through when they specifically buy a Coil/Spiral UVB bulb is not only do their pets still develop Metabolic Bone Disease due to their UVB emittance being so low, but they also end up with horrible eye infections (Photoconjunctivitis), blindness, skin burns, and skin cancer. Why? Because there are some horribly harmful light rays that are emitted by Coil/Spiral UVB bulbs which are a byproduct of the manufacturing process used to make them...and this goes for ALL Coil/Spiral shaped lightbulbs that are marketed as being for some type of artificial light benefit to a pet, whether it be a UVB Coil bulb, a UVA (heat) Coil bulb, or the artificial "bird" Coil bulbs...So you should NEVER put your birds or any other pets underneath an artificial Coil/Spiral shaped bulb, regardless of it's use.
So what does all of this have to do with birds? Nothing at all, and that's the point, lol. Birds do not require UVB light for their bodies to manufacture Vitamin D3 or any other Vitamin, and thus it also has no bearing on their absorption, processing, or use of Calcium from their diets. Here's the deal: As long as you are feeding your bird a healthy, varied, nutritious diet every day, they are going to get all of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids/enzymes, and everything else that their bodies need to perform all of the systematic processes they do, just like us humans get all of our required nutrition from our diets. So there is absolutely not a single artificial "bird light" sold that is going to benefit your bird nutritionally, metabolically, etc. AS LONG AS your bird's diet is adequate and appropriate...And if your bird's diet is not adequate and appropriate, there's not artificial light that is going to help that situation...And as I already mentioned, a lot of the artificial "bird lights" manufactured and sold out there not only do nothing at all to help your birds, many of them can and will actually harm your birds if they are put underneath them every day; the harm that these artificial "bird lights" can do spans everything from eye, skin, and feather damage to mucous membrane damage and cell-degradation and changing...yes, that's another way to say cancer, specifically skin cancer.
It's always good to get your bird out under natural sunlight if you can, as it's good to get yourselves under natural sunlight...but to a point, as too much is not a good thing, and not at all for any type of metabolic or nutritional need. As far as just adding lights to the room that your bird's cage/area is located in...Well, Sailboat said it best, stick to LED lighting because it does not emit any heat or dangerous spectrum light rays, and simply "light the room".
