Species Behaviour

Budgies

Native area Australia

Common Natural Behaviours

Flock calling at dawn and dusk
Foraging on the floor for grasses and seeds
Foraging in trees and brush for edible leaves, berries and seeds
Roosts in trees
Budgie Breeding is triggered by the availability of seed in the natural environment

Flock Size

Large flock sizes (Sometimes more than 100 individuals)

Romance and mating

Monogamous but do not mate for life, after the passing of a companion budgies may find another mate.

Preferred engagement type

All, though training and visual and aural enrichment may be preferred above tactile.

What does this mean for the budgies in our home? – Some take away points

Budgies can be very easily triggered into hormonal behaviour and egg laying. Offering a balanced diet and monitoring for signs of hormonal behaviour will help you reduce any adverse outcomes like egg binding.
Budgies are extremely social creatures and do best when provided with at least one companion.
Budgies are very intelligent, constant enrichment and training is important for their mental wellbeing. Many people find trick training and vocal training particularly rewarding with their budgies.
Budgies are vocal, used to living in large groups they will vocalise throughout the day with a burst of louder and more frequent noise at dawn and dusk.

Green Cheek Conures

Native area Central south America

Common Natural Behaviours

GCC stay mostly in the canopy of the rainforest in which they live
Both parents incubate eggs
Communicate using a wide variety of vocalisations and postures

Flock Size

10-20 individuals

Romance and mating

Monogamous lifelong mating within a flock

Preferred engagement type

All (Touch, play, visual, auditory)

What does this mean for the green cheek conures in our home? – Some take away points

Green cheek communication is very complex; humans can frequently miss small body language cues. Make sure to pay very close attention to your parrot to avoid bites that may occur from miscommunication.
Green cheeks do best when they are kept in at least pairs. If a nest is made, both male and females will fiercely defend it.
Foraging can be provided on the floor but lots of foraging opportunities should be provided amongst the perches to encourage normal investigation.

Blue fronted Amazon

Native area Amazon Rainforest

Common Natural Behaviours

Nest sites are located in a wide variety of amazon environments.
Stay mostly in the canopy of the treetops

Flock Size

Flock sizes are less well observed so could be anywhere from 50 - 300

Romance and mating

Monogamous within a flock

Preferred engagement type

All, they require a lot of mental engagement.

What does this mean for the blue fronted amazons in our home? – Some take away points

Hormonal individuals will be happy to create nests in a wide variety of sites around the home so a vigilant eye should be kept on any increasing hormonal behaviours.
In the wild amazons get most of their exercise from smaller burst of flying between treetops and a lot of climbing. In the home they can be prone to gaining excess weight as there is often less need or opportunity for them to climb and fly leading. This had lead to them have a reputation as ‘perch potato’s’. Ensuring that they are provided with a lot of climbing and flying opportunities will help reduce the risk of obesity and the health conditions associated with it.
Training tricks and behaviours can help keep their mind engaged and avoid behavioural issues.

Congo African Grey

Native area West and Central Africa

Common Natural Behaviours

Congo African greys will spend a lot of their time in the tree canopy but also spend a lot of time flying in search of food and feeding from the ground.
They tend to make nest sights close to water

Flock Size

Due to their endangered wild status flock sizes seem to be largely reduced, previous flocks were noted to have hundreds of individuals now flocks sit in the 20-50’s

Romance and mating

Monogamous lifelong mating

Preferred engagement type

Greys can be cuddly but generally other forms of engagement are more stimulating for them
Require EXTENSIVE enrichment and engagement for their mental health

What does this mean for the Congo African Greys in our home? – Some take away points

African greys spend a lot of time in direct sunlight, their bodies are adapted to cope with very high levels of UV light. Which means when they are kept in the home without any access to UV light (any plastic or glass with block UV rays so unfortunately a window doesn’t allow any UV to get through) they can run into issues like metabolic bone disease.
African greys are highly intelligent birds and MUST be provided with mental stimulation like play, foraging and training. The opportunity for flight is also essential.

Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Native area Rainforests of Australia

Common Natural Behaviours

These cockatoos’ nest in tree hollows near water
They will often feed by foraging from the ground
After foraging for food during the day, they will return to their roost site
‘Sentinel’ birds watch over the rest of the flock when eating and will call if they see a predator

Flock Size

Several hundreds. They will break into smaller groups during the day and come back together to roost.

Romance and mating

Monogamous

Preferred engagement type

Whilst Cockatoo’s can be very cuddly and generally prefer tactile engagement, inappropriate touching can lead to hormonal issues. Care should be taken to provide lots of other forms of enrichment in order to care for their mental health.

What does this mean for the Sulphur-crested cockatoo in our home? – Some take away points

These cockatoos’ vocalisations are meant to reach through large areas of forest as a result normal cockatoo vocalisations can be quite hard to live with. These vocalisations are normal and should be respected as such.
These cockatoos will often walk around on the floor; they are inquisitive and will often pick up and interact with whatever they find. Careful monitoring of them is required to ensure that they don’t pick up anything that could be hazardous to their health.
They can often form inappropriate bonds with humans. Cuddling should be the neck and above only and even this may be triggering during hormonal seasons. Instead building a relationship with play, training and enrichment as well as cuddling will ensure that the bond remains appropriate.