The Parrotlet Handbook

The Parrotlet Handbook PDF Download. When people think of parrots, they often think of exotic, col­orful birds that can be intimidating due to their hooked beaks, loud voices, and large size.

The Parrotlet Handbook PDF Download

There are more than 350 different species of parrots in the world, that include a wide range of sizes, colors, and per­sonalities from which prospective owners can choose. The parrotlet, a quiet, diminutive parrot originating in South and Central America, can be a wonderful avian companion for those who want a parrot but want to avoid some of the challenges of owning the larger species.

I first saw a parrotlet while attend­ing a bird show with my husband in 1980. Although I was familiar with many of the more common small hookbills, such as cockatiels, budgerigars (“American parakeets”), and lovebirds, I had never seen a parrotlet. About the size of a budgerigar without the tail, the pair of Pacific parrotlets looked like tiny miniature Amazon parrots. It was love at first sight; I was determined to learn everything I could about these tiny jewels and immediately set out to find a pair to breed.

Unfortunately, I soon discovered that few people kept parrotlets, let alone bred them. The United States was still importing parrots from the wild at that time and most people filled their aviaries with larger, more expensive parrots or kept more social birds that could be kept in flights or cages in large numbers. No one really knew anything about par­rotlets other than they were “diffi­cult” and considered a waste of aviary space and time.

Never one to pass up a challenge, I soon located a pair and began, through trial and error, to learn every­thing I could about keeping, breed­ing, and raising parrotlets. I was discouraged by most breeders and thought to be downright crazy by others, especially when I decided to try to hand-feed and socialize them into pets. However, I was undeterred in my quest and soon sold all of my other parrots so I could concentrate solely on raising parrotlets.