Cockatiel

Endemic to: Australia

Life Span: 30+

Size: Small - 10in.

Call & Noise Level: Low to moderate, mostly chirps and whistles.

Mutations: Normal Grey, Cinnamon, Pearl, Lutino, Pied, Silver, Fallow, Whiteface, Albino, Cinnamon Pearl, Cinnamon Pied, Whiteface Pearl, Dominant Silver, just to name a few.

Physical Characteristics: Normal variation is an overall dark gray in both sexes, males develop yellow faces with orange cheeks, and hens have only a tinge of yellow with orange cheeks. Hens are usually duller in color than males and have barring on their flight and tail feathers. Immature males look similar to females, but grow into their adult plumage after their first molt.

Personality: Cockatiels are very friendly, great-natured birds, make a great family pet, and are great with people of all ages. Cockatiels can also be very social with other types of parrots of similar size. Males are able to sing, whistle and some even develop large vocabularies, and the hen tends to be more quiet and cuddly. Cockatiels tend to form very strong bonds with their human flock; some Cockatiels have been known to starve themselves to death because their humans went on an out-of-town trip. Cockatiels love to be with their people, I haven't met a Cockatiel that didn't love head rubs, once they figure out how good a head rub can feel! Cockatiels can make fantastic companions for children as Cockatiels are very gentle and tolerant of the varying moods of children. Just make sure you teach the child to be gentle with their Cockatiel.

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