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.

Ring-Necked Doves: No, they're not common pet birds—in fact, only 3 percent of bird parents keep doves. But they should be more popular. Docile and easygoing, doves love hanging out with their humans once they get used to them. Although some species are not well suited as pets, requiring advanced management with large and precise environments, other dove species are very well suited as companion pets. Ring-necked doves (Streptopelia risoria) and diamond doves (Geopelia cuneata) are two of the most widely kept species of doves. They're perfect for people who want to keep birds as pets but don't want to (or can't) invest the time it takes to care for a parrot. Housing: They need a wide cage with several perches, bells and swings.