These fun facts about parrots may pique your interest in exotic birds as pets.

Those Birds Sure Can Talk!
While some parrots don’t talk at all, some can talk better than a toddler. African Grey parrots are the best talkers, followed closely by amazons and quaker parrots. It is not unusual for an African Grey parrot to learn up to 100 words and phrases, many of which he will use correctly in context to communicate wants, needs and observations.

Both African Grey parrots and amazons are excellent speakers, whereas quaker parrots are better at mimicking sounds than speaking clear words. You will probably hear a Quaker Parrot mimicking your microwave oven beeping, a door creaking, the cat meowing and you laughing more often than you’ll hear him say, "Hello." These birds will sometimes fixate on a favorite phrase, hollering, “Good morning,” at you all day long.

Parrots Love Attention
Why do cockatoos dance, conures lie on their backs in your hand or cockatiels let out wolf whistle as you walk by? Because parrots love attention. What angers a parrot? Being ignored or left in isolation.

A parrot’s need for attention is what makes it easy to train. You can use this need to properly socialize and train parrot babies. It’s important to make sure you never neglect your parrot, because the bird will view this as punishment.

Some Parrots May Outlive You
The average life expectancy of an American is 78. African Grey parrots can live for 50 to 60 years, Cockatoos typically live to be 65, and Macaws can live to be 80. It’s very likely that any of these three birds will outlive your ability to care for them.

If you buy a baby Macaw when you are 40 and lose your ability to care for it at age 75, you’ll be willing that bird to someone else when it is only 35 years old. That bird may outlive the next owner, and possibly even the owner after that. Parrots don’t take a change of owners well; most parrots bond very closely with their owners and grieve the loss of a human friend. Make sure you will your bird to someone who will be a good owner and will give your parrot the level of love and attention you would have provided.

Parrots Vary in Temperament
If you’ve been intimidated by parrots because you had a bad experience with one, you’ll be relieved to know that not all parrots are wired to interact with people in the same manner. For example, an African Grey is sensitive, shy and usually bonds only with one person. A Quaker Parrot will gladly socialize with everyone in your family, and possibly with strangers as well. Amazons are known for their erratic temperaments, while Pionus are known to be calm and steady. Macaws and cockatoos enjoy entertaining crowds, whereas Ecclectus would rather hide from the stage and perform only for trusted and well-known humans. If you’re entranced by rainforest parrots but don’t know if you could handle owning one, you can talk to parrot owners to determine which parrot would suit you best.