19 Beautiful Birds You Can Own as Pets

Often, people will admire an animal and decide they want to keep it as a pet. Many times, this is not an ideal situation for the animal. This happens frequently with birds. Because they are beautiful and fascinating, birds are often trapped for sale in the exotic pet trade.

Parakeet: Many people know them as "parakeets," but their real name is "budgerigar". The word "budgerigar" comes from the aboriginal people of Australia, the budgie homeland. We like to use "budgie" as a shortened version of "budgerigar". In English, "budgerigar" or "budgie" is a more accurate name, because "parakeet" actually refers to a large group of small to medium sized parrot species. Parakeets are flock creatures, and part of their care is providing social activities. If their human family members are home a lot, able to hand tame the bird, and give it lots of interaction time, then they will become its flock. Parakeets can form strong bonds to their human flock mates. If they will be gone a lot, then the parakeet should be kept in an environment with other parakeets. The human/bird bond may not be as strong but it is healthier for the birds overall. Without a companion the bird may suffer from depression and other mental health problems.