Choosing a Parrot - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. Hi, I am Rick Horvitz with Golden Cockatoo, in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and I am going to tell you which parrots are the most popular with people. But first, and more importantly, I am going to discuss with you which people parrots like the best. Because just as in any good relationship, it takes two sides to make a good match. So the first thing you have to decide is: do you have the personality for a bird, to be a good bird owner? Birds can live up to eighty years, so it is really important to make that decision right up front, to understand if your have it within your personality type and the amount of time you have available to have a parrot as a lifetime companion. They are excellent companions. They have certain things that are different from other pets, such as they are prey and not predators. So there are factors that come into account in the things we are going to discuss. The first thing is: parrots like people that are calm, and sedate, and talk softly. They like that a lot. If you are a quick mover, if you are fast, if you are loud, then generally, you are not going to be a good bird owner. The second thing that I have noticed is that people that have really good relationships with their birds are basically over average intelligence, a little eccentric, very compassionate, and passionate about their hobbies; birds being one of them. So if you possess those traits, the chances are that parrots are going to like you. So now that we have already established that you are the person that parrots like, generally people like birds that are talkative, affectionate, and colorful. The problem is, no bird has all those things. So you have to choose one of them that you like. Sure, one bird might be a colorful bird that speaks well, that is really affectionate; that is the exception and not the rule. I am speaking from fifteen years worth of experience, I can only speak in generalities of what I have experienced within the different species of birds, and what people are looking for in birds. So let's say you are the person that is enthralled with the bird speaking. Great! African Grey parrot is the number one selling bird that talks the best. There are also Amazon parrots and other really good talking birds, but the African Grey is bar none the number one selling talking bird. So if you are looking for a talking bird, then definitely check out the African Grey parrots. If you want an affectionate bird, I would suggest umbrella cockatoos. Basically the number one selling affectionate bird that does not require an inordinate amount of time. For example, a Moluccan Cockatoo is really affectionate, big beautiful bird and people come in the store and they just want to pat it for hours, it is beautiful, just pat it and pat it. Then we say, that is five hours a day doing that, do you have five hours a day to do that? Usually not. Sometimes they do, if you do, great! If you do not, put the bird back. Umbrella cockatoo, two to three hours a day, still a lot of time to do this and have the bird on you, but it is less codependent, it still is codependent, than a Moluccan Cockatoo is. If you want a quiet bird then you go for the smaller birds, generally a bird like the pineapple green cheek conyer. They have become extremely popular over the past year because number one, it is a beautiful mutation, pineapple, because the same colors of a pineapple, there is orange, there is green in there, there is brilliant red. They are a small little conyer. They are a quiet conyer, unlike a sun conyer, so if you live in an apartment, this is a great pet for you. Great for kids, great for adults, great for anybody. It is a great little bird, no problem. If you want a playful bird, which I really have not gotten into, the caiques are awesome. They are little clowns. They are just fantastic little birds. They play around, they do not talk. Maybe they can talk a word or two, but you should not say that they are a talking bird if you are going to look at them to buy as such. So those are four really good birds that anybody should look at when they are looking for a bird if you are the type of person that birds like.