You want a bird, but you don’t want a bird that screams at 6am, bites your kids or lives for 80 years and ends up in your will?
The pet shop won’t tell you is that often the most popular bird is the worst beginner bird. These are the three species that do well with first-time owners.
1. The budgie
This is not the ‘boring starter bird’. A well-raised budgie is affectionate, chatty, goofy and can learn 100+ words. They’re small, relatively quiet (compared to parrots) and bond deeply without the extreme neediness of bigger species.
Personality: Social, playful, forgiving of beginner mistakes. Great for kids over 8 who can be taught gentle handling.
What you need to know:
- Cage: Bigger than you think – minimum 75cm long for one bird. They fly horizontally, not up.
- Lifespan: 8-12 years with good care.
- Noise: Pleasant chirping, making them apartment friendly.
- Diet: Seed alone will kill them – 60% good pellet + 30% veg + 10% seed is the formula
2. The cockatiel
If budgies are the friendly extroverts, cockatiels are the affectionate introverts. They are the only popular parrot species that actually loves head scratches. That little crest? It’s a mood ring – straight up means he’s curious, flat back means he’s annoyed. Cockatiels are best for people who want a more hands-on, cuddly bird and have 2-3 hours a day to spend with them. Great for empty-nesters and someone who works from home.
Personality: Gentle, less nippy than budgies, loves to whistle. Less likely to become a one-person biter.
What you need to know:
- Cage: Minimum 90cm wide. Needs out-of-cage time daily
- Lifespan: 15-25 years
- Noise: Whistles and chirps with occasional contact calls. Much quieter than a conure. Males are noisier and better whistlers
- The dust: Cockatiels produce a powder down – so not recommended if you have allergies or asthma
3. The green-cheeked conure
Everyone wants a colourful parrot. Most shouldn’t get one. African Greys and Amazons are brilliant, sensitive and often end up rehomes because they are too much. Green-cheeks give you 80% of the parrot experience (playful, acrobatic, can learn a few words) in a 70gr body that’s quieter and less destructive. The greeked conure is best suited to someone who has done their research and definitely wants a parrot-like bond.
Personality: Clown, Velcro-bird, loves to hang upside down. Bonds hard to its person. They tend to go through a nippy teenage phase at 8-14 months. You have to train through it – not punish.
What you need to know:
- Cage: Minimum 90cm wide, needs loads to toys to shred
- Lifespan: 20-30 years
- Noise: The quietest of the conures but still loader than a budgie or cockatiel
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