The Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris Pyrrhopterus)

Avian First Aid Kit: Why Not Make Your Own?

2011-08-25T22:38:00.000-06:00

There are so many things that can happen to your bird in our day to day existence and being prepared can save your bird(s) life. Every seasoned or new bird owner should have an avian first aid kit available at all times for emergency care of your bird(s). There are many kits that you can buy online--just do a Google search on the term avian first aid kit, and you'll get lots of results.

What if you don't want to spend your hard-earned money on buying an avian first aid kit that is offered online? Why not make your own? It is not that difficult. Some items you may already have in your home to add to a basic kit.

First of all put together a list (perhaps on an index card) of emergency contacts and keep it with your kit. Your list or card could include your vet's emergency number, a complete medical history of each of your birds including their ages, and the number of a local poison control hotline (in case your bird ingests something harmful), Another thing to consider is adding the phone number of a friend who is also a pet bird owner or someone you trust.

Secondly, you will need something to house your kit items. If you decide to make your own, you can use anything from a 1 gal. ziploc freezer bag to a small tool box, a document case, a small tackle box or an art supply storage organizer. It's up to you. Whatever you have around that would hold the contents you purchase.

Here are things that I recommend you add to your kit, most of which you can find locally. The links are to examples I found online, but other brands will do:

1 - bottle Styptic Powder (for toenail & blood feather bleeding only)
1 - pair scissors (to trim feathers or cut bandage tape--I use the Fiskars double thumb scissors 5 in. length, stainless steel. They also work for cutting threads or small strings that become wrapped around a toe. A pair of small medical scissors would work as well.)
1 - pair hemostat 5" locking forceps (to remove broken blood feathers)--I found a pair for $1 at a local flea market.
8 - cotton swabs (to apply apply ointment or creams prescribed by your vet)--Q-Tip purse pack of 30 or generic brand works well if you don't have any on hand)
1 - bottle eye & skin flushing solution, 1-8 oz. (to flush eyes or wounds)
1 - roll 1/2" x 2 1/2 yd. adhesive tape (to secure bandages)
1 - pair latex gloves (for personal protection)
1 - 1" x 6 yd. sterile gauze bandage to (wrap wound areas)
2 - iodine antiseptic swabs (PVP) (for sterilization)
2 - antiseptic towelettes (to clean wound or hands)
2 - pks. 2" x 2" gauze pads (to apply to wound area)
1 - anti-bacterial hand wipe (for personal cleanup)

This is by no means an extensive first aid kit to cover all emergencies, but will get you started for minor emergencies until you are able to take your bird to your vet for emergency care. Other items to keep on hand for emergencies are a travel carrier for transportation to a vet. I found a small animal carrier at a garage sale for $2. I cleaned and sterilized it, and it works great. The next is a towel to restrain or secure your sick or injured bird.

Keep your emergency kit near your bird room so that you can get to it immediately.

The Grey Cheek: Larger Than Life

2011-03-16T21:40:00.002-06:00

Looking for a bird that is affectionate, playful, bold, perky, garrulous, intelligent, inquisitive, fearless, mischievous, feisty, and who thinks that it is as large as a macaw all rolled up in an eight inch long frame? Then look no further, the grey-cheeked parakeet is all of those things and more.

Physical Characteristics

(Troll & Radar - photo by Sonja)

Weighing in at 50-65 grams, the grey cheek (Brotogeris pyrrhopterus), also known as a pocket parrot, orange-flanked parakeet or orange-winged parakeet, received its name primarily from its distinctive grey cheeks. Its other distinguishing features are a dusky blue crown, brilliant orange feathers on the underwing, iridescent green feathers on its back, outer wing and tail areas, and a lighter, lime-green shade on its belly. Until 6 months of age, grey cheeks have black or spotty, black beaks and are often not as brightly colored as their parents. As they mature, their beaks become horn-colored (Harris). Grey cheeks are not sexually dimorphic and need DNA testing to determine their sex. According to David Alderton ("You and Your Pet Bird," 1992), the average life span of the grey cheek is 15 years, but some grey cheek owners claim they can live well into their 20s if properly cared for, fed a nutritional, balanced diet, and kept out of mischief.

History/Natural Habitat

According to many sources, the grey cheek was imported into the U.S. in large numbers in the 1970s through the fall of 1992 when importation was halted by a federal bill. Susan Hoss' article, "Hooked on Grey Cheeks," states that grey cheeks were bred by A.R. Hood as early as 1935. Robbie Harris, a California bird breeder and author, is the mostly widely written grey cheek breeder to date with a book (1985) and numerous articles on the grey cheek and the Brotogeris family.

In western Ecuador and northwestern Peru, grey cheeks live in arid scrub lands and deciduous forests, making their nests in old, arboreal, termite nests, decaying wood, or in moss nests in hollow, scrub trees. Their diet consists of petals and seeds of Erythrina trees and the flowers, fruit, and seeds of other native plants (Best, et al.). They also relish the occasional visit to local banana plantations (Worth).

Baby grey cheeks were taken from their nests and hand-fed before leaving their native countries. As a result, they were "tame and sweet" upon arrival in the U.S. or shortly thereafter if the hand feeding or weaning was completed at the quarantine station (Harris and Worth). Because they were so popular and plentiful when they were being imported, Harris mentioned that they sold for as little as $25 - $30. In addition, Harris' prediction of soaring prices is now a reality; they currently range in price from $175 - $400.

Grey cheeks are "near threatened"* in the wild (Collar, et al.), and although they are fairly plentiful within their restricted range in Ecuador, they are now extremely scarce in Peru. Some of the threats to grey cheeks are loss of habitat, local trade, and formerly, the international trade, when they were imported into the U.S. by the thousands, seriously depleting the wild population (Best, et al.). This species is considered the most endangered of the Brotogeris family (Best, et al.). Luckily, four areas inhabited by grey cheeks are protected reserves or national forests, though more areas that they inhabit will need protective status if the grey cheek is going to survive in the wild.

Potential as Pets

It is very difficult to class the grey cheek into any one category, since each bird has its own personality/individuality. Hand-fed grey cheeks are generally affectionate, friendly, have gentle dispositions, and love spending most of their time with their human buddies, forming very strong bonds with their owners. They often beg you for attention and love having their heads and neck scratched, burrowing in your clothes-especially pockets, and will often sleep on their owners. Grey cheeks can be one-person birds or can form attachments to others as well depending on how well socialized they are, the individual bird's personality, and how much time is spent working with them. Grey cheeks are extremely loyal to their owners and are "social" birds that like to be included in household activities as much as possible - especially meals. If in doubt, try taking one to the dinner table with you and watch the little guy dive into your plate, head first!

The intelligence of these birds constantly amazes me. They will figure out ways to get what they want or get to where they want to go by the most outrageous means. For instance, no matter where her cage is located in the room, my clipped, female grey cheek will find a way to get to the cockatiel's cage across the room to raid his food dishes. If I leave the room for a minute or two and then return, even though precautions were taken to insure that the bird could not possibly get to the other cage, there she'll be, happily munching away in the tiel's cage making smug, little clucking noises.

These energetic little birds have 'large' personalities compared to their small size. They are often quite fearless, and their curious nature can get them into scrapes with larger birds, with other household pets, and can even endanger their own lives when out wandering if not properly supervised during "out" time (Harris). My bird often falls asleep in my hand or sidles up to my hand to sleep. A word of warning, however, do not allow your grey cheek to sleep with you. Main causes of death in grey cheeks are suffocation, being crushed when the owner rolls on top of the bird, or by being stepped on when they get under foot. Their adventurous, exploratory nature can cause them to be seriously injured as well, which is why I cannot stress supervision too strongly.

While some grey cheeks are very bold and inquisitive, others are very sensitive, quiet, and shy. Though many grey cheeks have gentle dispositions all the time, not all grey cheeks are sweet. Even the sweetest grey cheek can occasionally have mood swings and go through hormonal changes when sexually mature (Mandis), especially during breeding season (Harris). Being very territorial birds in the wild, and in your home, they may yell when strangers (or friends) come to visit. They have been known to be nippy and feisty in protecting their space and can be very possessive of their owners; "watch bird" or "attack bird" comes to mind. They can even attack their owners when one of their mood swings hits them. Some grey cheeks will throw temper tantrums when overly tired or when they do not get their own way. Parent-raised birds or adult, wild-caught, grey cheeks are generally not as sweet as hand-fed birds but can be tamed and won over with a lot of love and patience.

Grey cheeks can also be very opinionated and have their definite likes and dislikes. Grey cheek dislikes range from rustling plastic bags to resenting their owners talking on the phone. My bird will burrow between my neck and the phone and push the phone away from my face when I am talking! Though some grey cheeks are not afraid of anything, some can be afraid of things like rubber gloves, brooms, vacuum cleaners, garden hoses, brooms, dust mops, and spiders to name a few. The owner of a grey cheek named Sherlock told me that her bird seems to see invisible ants crawling on the bed and dives in terror! Their likes can range from spending quality time with their owners to splashing in their bath water.

Diet

The grey cheek's diet should consist of pellets, a good cockatiel seed mixture, fresh water daily, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. If a grey cheek consistently refuses a pelleted diet, then a powdered, avian vitamin supplement should be sprinkled on their fruits and vegetables. (I do not recommend the liquid form in drinking water due to the potential for bacterial growth). Some foods that grey cheeks love to eat or will try are: apples, papaya, cut-up oranges, carrots, melon (not the rind), corn, plums, broccoli, pears, bananas, peaches, brown rice, plain cooked pasta, squash, peas, grapes, cherries, fresh sprouted seeds, cooked beans, cheese, spray millet, green beans, red or green peppers, greens (like spinach, etc.), sweet potatoes, yams or potatoes (peeled & cooked), beets, and multi-grain cereals that are low in sodium, sugar, and fat. There is a lot to choose from. Grey cheeks are notorious fruit hounds and will often ignore other foodstuff when fruit is mixed in with it. I suggest offering them vegetables, grains or starches first and then giving them their fruit treats after they have eaten the other items. As an occasional treat, try air-popped popcorn (no salt or butter), a piece of shredded hard cheese, or a little wheat bread (keep these items to a minimum as they can cause yeast problems in your birds according to my avian vet). A cuttlebone or a mineral block should also be included in their cages at all times. (A note of warning: do not feed fruit pits or seeds as they are toxic).

Housing

A grey cheek can be housed in a medium-sized cage, 16 - 20 inches wide (or square), with bar spacing similar to a cockatiel cage (1/2" - 3/4"). Use a combination of perches (the same diameter as the bar spacing): natural branch perches, wooden dowels or comfort perches, Booda or rope perches, and a cement perch to keep the nails and beak trim. Playpens on the cage tops are often enjoyed by grey cheeks as are a wide variety of toys such as wooden toys, acrylic toys, bells, etc. to keep them entertained. Most grey cheeks--quite the little acrobats--are very playful, will hang from and swing on rope toys, and have the climbing agility of monkeys! They need time out of their cages every day as long as it is supervised. A good variety of toys and leaving a radio on during the day can help to pass the time and relieve boredom when you are at work or school. Bathing is another important part of a grey cheek's life; they love splashing around in a shallow bowl of water. I use a 2"H x 5"W round, plastic bowl which can be found at most pet stores.

Trainability

Sources, including Robbie Harris, indicate that grey cheeks can learn to perform tricks. Some grey cheek owners that I correspond with have also successfully potty-trained their birds. Mine will defecate on a newspaper that I keep handy when I tell her to "go potty" and position her above the paper. However, if I am lax about watching for the potty signals, then she will go wherever she feels like it. When she goes of her own accord to the newspaper and 'goes potty' without a reminder from me, then she will be truly potty trained!

As for their talking ability, Robbie Harris' experience with grey cheeks indicates that they can learn to speak, though she does not rate them in the top percentile of best talkers. A grey cheek breeder from Washington state, Smiles Germeau, says that grey cheeks "[do] have some ability for mimicry but are not known for the speech clarity of their larger [parrot] cousins." A booklet called "The Grey-cheeked Parakeet" (author unknown) states that they "can learn to talk and whistle with ease" and that they can be "avid talkers." Many of my e-mail correspondents have told me that their birds are good talkers as well. Grey cheeks tend to mumble and talk when covered up for the evening or just before they get up in the morning. My bird will say "peek-a-boo" anywhere from 5 - 20 times after she is covered up at night. Any kind of training will take time and patience on the owner's part.

Loudness

When compared to the vocal volume of cockatoos, macaws or some members of the conure family, the grey cheek's squawk is relatively mild. Some grey cheeks are very quiet and can be kept in apartments, though a house would be preferable. According to Harris, when two or more grey cheeks are housed in your home, their "chattering voices can be annoying at times"; however, one grey cheek is not nearly as noisy. Some grey cheek owners are probably muttering to themselves now saying, "what do you mean one grey cheek is relatively quiet? Are you crazy?"

Grey cheeks definitely do know how to scream when they do not get their way, when they crave attention, or when they hear the sound of running water, rattling plastic or paper bags, etc. Visitors to your home can trigger bouts of screaming as well. Dr. Walter J. Rosskopf and other sources state that grey cheeks are "very prone to nuisance screaming." One owner describes this yelling as the "grey cheek war cry." I happen to have a grey cheek who is a screamer and who is the 'queen' of the mood swing. Grey cheeks who are "nuisance screamers," biters, or have other behavioral problems need special handling, but they are definitely worth the effort. There are a number of good articles available on the web and in avian publications that can assist with problem behaviors. It is important to be patient with grey cheeks that do exhibit these tendencies and work on correcting the problem instead of punishing them for their behavior.

In a nutshell, a grey cheek can be the best pet you ever own (or are owned by) even if you happen to have one that is a "mood swinger." Just ask anyone who owns one or has owned one in the past; most all are fiercely loyal to the breed, nearly as loyal as the birds are to them. In my opinion, grey cheeks, though not always predictable, sure are a barrel of fun, keep you on your toes, and bring a lot of joy into your life.

*Update by author: Grey cheeks are considered threatened in the wild and are no longer widely available as pets. There are a few breeders left mostly in Florida or California. Personally, I believe that there should be a cooperative breeding program for these birds so that they don't end up extinct like the Carolina Parakeet (a conure species that was endemic to the eastern United States) that was, among other things, slaughtered to extinction because they foraged on crops). I would recommend another member of the Brotogeris family like the white-wing parakeet or yellow-chevroned (both were formerly called canary-winged parakeets). Small conures like green-cheeked conures or maroon-bellied conures also make good pets and have similar personalities to the grey cheek.

Reprinted from Winged Wisdom with the author's permission.

Additional reading materials:

Alderton, David. You and Your Pet Bird, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992: 90.
Best, Brinley J. and Michael Kessler. Biodiversity and Conservation in Tumbesian Ecuador and Peru, Cambridge, UK: Birdlife International, 1995: 49,124,130-131,151,154,163-172,175,187,201. Available full-text online: pages 1-113 | pages 114-218.
Best, Brinley J., Christopher T. Clarke, Matthew Checker, Amanda L. Broom, Richard M. Thewlis, Will Duckworth and Angus McNab. "Distributional records, natural history notes, and conservation of some poorly known birds from southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru," (Part I) Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club 113, 1993: 108-119.
Best, Brinley J., Niels Krabbe, Christopher T. Clarke, and Amanda L. Best. "Red-masked Parakeet (Aratinga erythrogenys) and Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris Pyrrhopterus): Two threatened parrots from Tumbesian Ecuador and Peru?" in Bird Conservation International 5, 1995: 233-250.
Best, Brinley and Ecuadorian Dry Forest Project. The Threatened Forests of South-West Ecuador: The Final Report of the Ecuadorian Dry Forest Project, 1991, Biosphere Publications.
Brightsmith, D.J. "Wild Science: Nest Sites of Wild Parrots," Bird Talk, 18 (Feb. 2000): 34-35 (mentions grey cheeks).
Brightsmith, D.J. "The Wild Side of Brotogeris Parakeets," Bird Breeder On-line, June 1999.
Brightsmith, D.J. "Nest site shifts from tree cavities to termite mounds I", 2005. Competition, predation and nest niche shifts among tropical cavity nesters: ecological evidence. Journal of Avian Biology 36:74-83.
Brightsmith, D.J. "Nest site shifts from tree cavities to termite mounds II," 2005. Competition, predation and nest niche shifts among tropical cavity nesters: phylogeny and natural history evolution of parrots (Psittaciformes) and trogons (Trogoniformes). Journal of Avian Biology 36:64-73.
Brightsmith, D.J. "Nest sites of termitarium nesting birds." 2004. Nest sites of termitarium nesting birds in SE Peru. Neotropical Ornithology 15:319-330.
Brightsmith, D.J. "Use of arboreal termitaria by nesting birds in the Peruvian Amazon." Condor 102:529-538. 2000.
Brightsmith, D.J. and Pautrat, L. "Termites y la Coexistencia con Aves Tropicales. Parque Nacional del Manu. En: Xilema. Revista de los Estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias Forestales. UNALM. Año 1, No. 1. 1998.
Brightsmith, D.J. "The roles of predation and competition in nest niche differentiation: evidence from termitarium nesting parrots and trogons." PhD Dissertation. Department of Zoology. Duke University, Durham, NC. 1999. Abstract.
Clubb, Susan L. "Private Aviculture in Conservation of Neotropical Psittacines" in New World Parrots in Crisis: Solutions from Conservation Biology, ed. Steven R. Beissinger and Noel F.R. Snyder, Washington and London: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1988: 124-127 (portion of article pertains to grey cheeks).
Collar, N.J. and P. Andrew. Birds to Watch: The ICBP World Checklist of Threatened Birds, Technical Publication No. 8, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988: 76.
Collar, N.J. and A.T. Juniper. "Dimensions and Causes of the Parrot Conservation Crisis" in New World Parrots in Crisis: Solutions from Conservation Biology, ed. Steven R. Beissinger and Noel F.R. Snyder, Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988: 3-21 (portion of article pertains to grey cheeks).
Harris, Robbie. "Grey-cheeked Parakeets and Other Brotogeris," Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1985.
Hoss, Susan. "Hooked on Grey Cheeks," SPBE Journal, (OND 1996): 22-26.
Mandis, Kathleen. "The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Syndrome," The Grey-cheeked Parakeet.
Meyer de Schauensee, Rodolphe. The Species of Birds of South America and Their Distribution, Norberth, PA: Academy of Natural Sciences, 1966: 129-130 (small section on Brotogeris).
Parker, Theodore A., III, Thomas S. Schulenberg, Michael Kessler, and Walter H. Wust. "Natural history and conservation of the endemic avifauna in north-west Peru," Bird Conservation International, 5 (1995): 201-231.
Worth, Gail. "Grey-cheeked Parakeet," ASA Avicultural Bulletin, (June 1993): 10.

Efforts launched to protect Peru's 'forgotten' forests

2011-03-15T19:30:00.002-06:00

Found this article from 2006 about protecting forgotten forests in Peru, one of the habitats for endangered grey cheeks. I'm not reprinting the BirdLife International article here except for a couple of lines but have linked to their article below.

03-13-2006

"Unless the international conservation community moves quickly, species will continue to become extinct in the 'forgotten' forests of the Tumbesian region of northern Peru, BirdLife warns today."

"Seven of the affected species are classified by BirdLife for the IUCN Red List as Endangered. These are the Grey-cheeked Parakeet Brotogeris pyrrhopterus..."

Read the entire article here.

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2006/03/peru.html (accessed March 15, 2011)

What To Do If Your Parrot is a Biter

2010-09-02T21:40:00.075-06:00

Have a problem with your parrot biting you? You are not the only one. I have had three different parrots who enjoyed biting the crap out of me. Learn to look for what kind of mood they are in before handling your bird.

If their irises are mere pinpoints, if their wings are jerking a bit, if their head and neck feathers are puffed out, or if they are chatting angrily to themselves, stay away. I have avoided many bites just from watching their mannerisms before handling them.

There are a number of reasons that parrots will bite you. View the video playlist below and read the articles provided about this problem behavior in parrots so that you can prevent bites and regain your parrot's trust.

Burgess, Alyson. "Why Does My Bird Bite Me So Much?" About.com.
"Correcting Bird Biting Behavior," drsfostersmith.com.
"Exotic Bird FAQ: Why Does My Bird Bite?" thetrueparrot.homestead.com.
F., Ann. "Success With A Biting Pet Bird!" Winged Wisdom (Feb. 1998).
Hallendar, Jane."To Bite or Not to Bite - That Is the Question," Pet Bird Report.
Hines, Ron. "How To Tame a Wild or Aggressive Parrot," 2ndchance.info.
Johnson, Anne. "Once Bitten...... Twice Shy," Winged Wisdom (June 1997).
Mandis, Kathleen. "The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Syndrome."
Margison, Becky. "Why Does My Bird Bite?" Petfinder.com.
Nash, Holly. "Bird Biting: Why They Do It and How to Correct It." Peteducation.com.
"Pet Tips: Stop Biting Birds," essortment.com.
"The Biting Bird," Quakerville.com.
Tucker, Kelly. "Ouch!! Bird Bites," Winged Wisdom (March 2000).
Wilson, Liz. "Biting Parrots: Why They Do It and How To Control It," UpAtSix.
Wilson, Liz. "Don't Take It Personally," UpAtSix.
Wilson, Liz. "Facial Bites, Nozzle Nuzzling, & Tummy Kisses," UpAtSix.
Wilson, Liz. "Biting: The Great Power Game," The Grey Play Round Table.

Additional reading in various publications (try requesting via interlibrary loan):

Athan, Mattie Sue. "Beyond Biting," Bird Talk, 16 (Sept. 1998): 62-71.
Blanchard, Sally. "Biting: Getting Past the Fear," Pet Bird Report, 9 v. 2 (Feb. 2000): 6-10.
Blanchard, Sally. "No More Biting Birds," Bird Talk, 9 (Oct. 1991): 109-115.
Blanchard, Sally. "Parrot Psychology: Cheeky Grey Cheek," Bird Talk, 6 (Mar. 1988): 26.
Blanchard, Sally. "Parrot Psychology: Minimize Biting Behavior," Bird Talk, 17 (June 1999): 68-69.
Blanchard, Sally. "Stop That Screaming!, Nippy Fits, Do You Dislike Your Bird?" Bird Talk, 12 (Apr. 1994): 118-123.
Blanchard, Sally. "Why Birds Bite," Bird Talk, 11 (Mar. 1993): 68-72.
Chamberlain, Susan. "The Big, Bad Bite," Bird Talk, 23 (Jan. 2005): 26-35.
Davis, Chris. "The Biting Bird," Bird Talk, 12 (Jun. 1994): 32-38.
Davis, Chris. "Heart to Heart: Why Does My New Bird Bite," Bird Talk, 20 (May 2002): 22-23.
Doss, Joanie. "Biting the Hand That Feeds Them," Bird Talk, 13 (Oct. 1995): 106-109.
Dorge, Ray. "10 Ways to Avoid Bird Bites," Bird Talk, 15 (May 1997): 80-83.
Micco, T. & M. "Why do Birds Scream and Bite?" Bird Talk, 4 (Apr. 1986): 25.
Moustaki, Nikki. "Turn Down the Volume," Bird Talk, 20 (Apr. 2002): 50-59.
Thornton, J. "Taking the Bite Out of the Bird," Bird Talk, 6 (May 1988): 16.
Wilson, Liz. "Take the Bite Out of Biting," Bird Talk, 19 (July 2001): p. 30-39.

Brotogeris: The International Diplomat

2010-08-29T19:20:00.001-06:00

by Howard Voren

For the Indian cultures of Central and South America, having a pet bird for the children to enjoy is almost as easy as plucking fruit from a tree. With such vast resources, the choices are endless. One would tend to believe that the choice would vary according to locality or tribal custom. The interesting thing is that regardless of the country or the tribe, the choice for a starter bird is almost always the same: a parakeet.

Here in the United States, the word "parakeet" conjures a completely different image than in the jungles to our south. Here, one immediately envisions the budgie. There, when someone says the word parakeet, he is talking about one of the representatives of the group of small parrots known as Brotogeris. Measuring about 7 inches from the tops of their heads to the tips of their tails, these little Latin diplomats are loved and cherished as pets throughout their range.

Although they are small, they have great presence and can always steal the show with their clown-like antics. Regardless of which type you choose, when hand-raised, they have the perfect personality to charm anyone into realizing the joys of having a bird as a companion.

Housing and Diet

The Brotogeris' small size and relatively wide bodies allows the use of some of the smaller parrot cages that are available. This is assuming that the bird will be spending quite a bit of time sitting on top of and climbing around its domicile.

Its diet should consist of a high-quality cockatiel seed mix or one of the pelleted diets as the mainstay. This should be supplemented on a daily basis with a variety of freshly diced fruits and veggies (don't forget the greens). It's worthwhile learning which foods they like best. These clever characters can easily be taught all types of tricks for treats.

Species

Depending on the book you consult, Brotogeris come in about eight different varieties. Most carry names describing the coloration differences that allow them to be differentiated from their fellow ambassadors in neighboring countries.

The most widely distributed form, and the one that was imported in the greatest numbers in the early days of mass importation, was the canary wing (Brotogeris versicolorus chiriri). This little bundle of joy is bright green and flashes a bright canary-yellow patch of color on the upperside of its wings. This type has the largest range, including the vast majority of South American countries.

Literally thousands of these were imported from Paraguay, where the indigenous Guarani Indians call them "chi-ri-ri." This name comes from the call that they make as the flocks fly through the trees. In accordance with this, the subspecific scientific name chosen by the Scientist who first described them to the rest of the world is chiriri. Although they were all wild-caught, once they were separated from their "buddies" and had their wings clipped, they quickly became tame and affectionate pets.

During the same time period, small quantities of the canary wing's closest look-alike were also imported. This was the white wing (B. versicolorus) from Eastern Peru and Ecuador. With its wings closed, it shows a yellow patch that is just like the canary wing's. The bird is an overall duller shade of green but flashes a big surprise when it opens its wings: The yellow on the wing is replaced by pure white as the colored wing patch moves toward the tip of the wing. White is a very rare color in New World parrots. This bird was always relatively rare in aviculture but is now beginning to gain a small foothold. This is due to the introduction of new bloodlines into aviculture from a wild flock in South Florida. Like the canary wing, it was also released from imported shipments but in much smaller numbers.

The second type of Brotogeris to be imported in large numbers was the grey cheek (B. pyrrhopterus) from the Pacific coast of western Peru and Ecuador. This bird's overall pastel greens, blues and grays make it look a world apart from its cousins.

Grey cheeks were not only the most divergent in coloration, but were also the first Brotogeris in modern times to be imported exclusively as hand-raised babies. These birds were harvested seasonally from the nests of their wild parents and hand-fed until they were old enough to export. Due to this, the grey cheek is the bird that is responsible for the vast popularity that the entire family enjoys in the pet trade today. Unfortunately, grey cheeks have not proven to be reliable breeders, and since importation has ended, they have become difficult to find.

The next best-known member of the group is the orange chin (B. jugularis). This bird is the family representative throughout Central America. These highly intelligent and gregarious clowns have bright-green body feathers with a bronze-brown patch of color on the sides of their wings. True to their name, they sport a bright-orange patch of feathers under the lower mandible.

Those that were imported came in from Honduras and were all hand-raised. Unfortunately, most importers were only interested in the highly valuable yellow-naped Amazons that were being collected from the same areas. They chose not to take the health risk of bringing in these relatively inexpensive birds with the yellow napes. Due to this, only a few shipments of several hundred birds each were imported during this short time period. Fortunately, several breeding facilities, including my own, are producing them regularly on a yearly basis.

Quite similar in appearance to the orange chin is its Bolivian cousin, the cobalt wing (B. cyanoptera). They do not have the same rich green coloration on the body, but this is more than made up for with the cobalt-blue coloration displayed when they open their wings. Imported in very small numbers during the early 1980s, most of the birds wound up in the hands of bird breeders. Although this bird has a foothold in several breeding facilities, it will be a while before there are sufficient numbers to reroute them from the breeders to the pet trade.

The rarest of the "available" members of this clan is the golden wing (B. chrysopterus) from Surinam, South America. These birds have an unusual deep dark-green body coloration that is different than the green seen on any other New World parrot. They are highlighted by a bright-orange patch of color on their wings when in flight. As with all the other members of the family, they are incredibly entertaining and affectionate pets. Although this bird has proved to be difficult to breed in most aviaries, we at the Institute have been lucky enough to have several pairs that produce regularly every year.

The remaining two members of this group are the plain color (B. tircia) and the tui (B. sanctithomae). The plain color is a bird from Brazil that was never imported. As its name implies, it lacks the flash of color that all the other members of the group have somewhere on their bodies. The tui, on the other hand, was imported many years ago from Colombia. This bird looks like a miniature yellow-fronted Amazon and makes a marvelous pet. It is probably the most highly sought-after bird of the group. Unfortunately, during the time that they were imported, there was very little interest in captive-breeding. Due to this, they have all but disappeared. There are still a few pairs in competent hands, and we are all hoping for the best.

Howard Voren in the founder and director of the Voren Research Institute for Psittacultural Science and has bred several species of Brotogeris. Article originally appeared in the 1996/97 Birds USA. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author.

Brotogeris: The Masters of Adaptation

2010-08-29T17:58:00.002-06:00

by Howard Voren

If any New World parrots could be called the "masters of adaptation," it would be those of the genus Brotogeris. Whenever you travel through Central or South America, the representatives of the parrot family that you are almost guaranteed to experience are those from this unique group. Their high visibility stems from the fact that they enjoy flying in large flocks and soar as a group through any areas that have stands of large trees.

"Not so unusual," you say. Well, it is if the stands of large trees are in parks in large cities. These are the only parrots that seem to pay no attention as to whether the trees in which they play and feed are in the city or in the jungle.

As long as there is still a supply of seeds, fruits, berries or blossoms, they will continue to return to their favorite feeding sites, day after day. The general rule that "if people move in, the parrots move out" has been largely ignored by these little wonders.

Flock Behavior

Although individually they are small enough that they could never attain the description of being noisy. As a group of 100 or 200 they can more than attract your attention with their excited chattering.

I will never forget that during one of my trips to Central America I spent 10 minutes staring incessantly upward into the foliage of a 100-foot-tall ficus tree. I could hear the chatter two blocks away, but I couldn't see them. All of a sudden, like a huge green cloud, they burst out of the canopy all at once and flew off to another large tree a few blocks away. They chattered as rapidly as they flew. They were oblivious to the fact that they were in a major metropolitan area. After all, at the 100-foot level, there was little concern regarding us humans.

Habitat

Brotogeris have found a niche and held on successfully in almost every Central and South American country. A group of escapees have even "colonized" in and around a metropolitan area of South Florida, called Coconut Grove. As well as they get along in the presence of humans, they do as well or better in uninhabited areas. All seven species of this small green parrot are common throughout most of their range.

Brotogeris have also shown their talent for versatility in the fact that they are one of the only members of the parrot family that has adapted to more than one type of nesting habitat. They not only test in tree hollows, as do most all other psittacines, but they will also create their own nests as an alternative when other hollows are not available. The most common place for this alternative nest is an arboreal termitarium (a termite's nest in a tree).

In Central and South America, there are termites that will build nests in trees. These appear as large brown mounds of paper mâché, sitting in the crook of a tree limb. The birds will excavate tunnels and make nesting chambers in the center of the termite mounds. They will lay their eggs in their "custom-built" nesting chambers. The Brotogeris are also the only parrot-type birds I know of that have been rumored to, on rare occasions, have females sharing their nests with one another.

Size, Color And Availability

Brotogeris are all quite similar in body size. Although their length ranges from 6½ to 9 inches, the bulk of the differences are in the length of the tail.

Plain parakeet. The longest species, the plain parakeet (Brotogeris tirica), has the longest tail; it measures one half of the bird's body length. As far as I know, this bird is either quite rare or nonexistent in American aviculture.

Unlike all of its cousins, it lacks a highly colored area on its body. This highly colored area is what has lead to most of the common names given to members of this group. Because of this the bird is called the plain parakeet. It is very common is eastern Brazil where, in true Brotogeris fashion, it not only populates the open country but also the large parks and botanical gardens in the big cities.

Orange-chinned parakeet. The species that has the most northerly range is called the orange-chinned parakeet (B. jugularis). The small bright-orange patch of feathers on its upper mandible is what has given this member its name. Orange chins also have a stronger yellowish tinge to the green feathers of the breast than other members of the group. Their range extends from southern Mexico, south through Central America into the South American countries of Colombia and Venezuela.

Although they have a very long range, the majority of those that were imported into the United States were from Honduras. They were never imported in large quantities. Those that were imported were taken from their nests as babies and hand-fed until independence. Because of this, they made such wonderful pets that most of them never resurfaced into the breeder trade. The few that were set up for breeding are producing well, but their production falls very short of the large demand. They are an old favorite that has now become quite difficult to obtain.

Grey-cheeked parakeet. The one member of this group that was hand-raised in the greatest quantity for export to the U.S. was the grey-cheeked parakeet (B. pyrrhopterus) from Ecuador and Peru. A large area of light gray on the cheeks is set off by a beautiful blue-green coloration on its head.

Literally tens of thousands of these birds were imported from Peru. In fact, during the "heyday" of their importation, they were commonly called Peruvian grey cheeks. It was not uncommon for shipments of up to 1,000 birds to land in Miami, Florida, from Lima, Peru, to be quarantined in USDA-run facilities. As with all legally imported birds, they were quarantined for 30 days before they were released to the pet trade.

Because they were hand-raised before they were exported from Peru, they made excellent pets. At one point in time, they were, by far, the most popular pet bird in America next to the budgie and the cockatiel.

For a few years before their importation was ended, waiting for the Peruvian grey cheek season became a yearly tradition for pet-bird retailers. Unfortunately, this species has failed to maintain itself in captive-breeding programs. As the importation era slips further and further into the past, they are becoming more and more difficult to find.

Canary-winged parakeet. The bird most commonly thought of when one thinks of this group is called the canary-winged parakeet (B. versicolurus chiriri). The scientific name of this subspecies, chiri, comes from the name that the indigenous Amazonians gave to the bird. "Chi-ri-ri, chi ri, chi-ri-ri" is a very accurate rendition of their chattering call as they fly through the jungles. Having a range that involves the majority of South America, they were by far one of the most commonly imported birds into the U.S.

Its outstanding color characteristic is the canary-yellow patch of color that it sports on its wings. This bird carried several different popular names in the U.S. pet trade. Among them were "bee bee" and "pocket parrot."

Although it was imported in the largest numbers, most of these numbers were brought in before there was an interest in captive propagation. In short, when they were available, no one cared to set them up for breeding. Because they were wild-caught rather than taken from the nest and hand-raised, they never developed the reputation for pet quality that the grey cheek and the orange chin maintained. Now that the entire group is more fully appreciated, there is a new demand for them as pets. Until recently, it was very difficult to obtain good specimens for breeding purposes. Almost no one was breeding them, and those who were still around were too old to be used in a breeding program. In a unique turn of events, the birds that are now being used to populate American breeding farms so hand-raised babies can be had for the pet trade are captured from wild flocks that have established themselves in Florida. This is also true of the well-known but relatively rare white-winged parakeet.

White-winged parakeet. Very similar to the canary wing, the white wing subspecies (B. v. versicolurus) differs in having the majority of the large colored area of its wing white instead of yellow. They are duller green in body coloration than chiriri and still show yellow as their patch of wing color when their wings are closed. When they open their wings for flight, however, a large impressive area of white is displayed. This was a bird that was always very rare in American aviculture until recently. There is now an established wild flock of these in South Florida. Thanks to this, American aviculturists are getting a second chance at establishing this unusually colored bird.

Cobalt-winged parakeet. This one member of the family that is the most commonly misidentified is the cobalt-winged parakeet (B. cyanoptera). Although it is named for the extensive area of blue coloration on its wings, it also has the orange "chin" coloration of the orange-chinned parakeet.

Although its range extends from southern Colombia and Venezuela, south to northern Bolivia, those that were imported into the U.S. were from Bolivia. This bird was never imported in large numbers. The greatest percentage of those that came into the U.S. were sold to those who wished to breed them; however, some did go to the pet trade. Those who are lucky enough to have them in their homes as pets are usually under the misconception that they have orange chins, not cobalt wings. One easy method for determining the difference is the coloration on the head. Only cobalt wings will have yellow feathers around the nostrils.

Golden-winged parakeet. The rarest from the standpoint of numbers imported, is the golden-winged parakeet (B. chrysopterus). Although they are commonly from the area of Brazil, in and around the Amazon River, the ones that are here in the U.S. were imported from Surinam.

Their name stems from the bright, golden orange patch of feathers on their wings. This brilliant color is highly visible when they are in flight. Their overall body coloration is a very unusual shade of dark green. This shade of green is never seen on any other Central or South American parrots. At the Voren Research Institute, we have made a concerted effort to establish this uniquely colored bird. We now have 20 pairs that include the offspring of our original group of 15 unrelated birds.

Tui parakeet. By far, the most highly sought after by connoisseurs of the group is the tui parakeet (B. sanctithomae sanctithomae). These delightful, little birds look like miniature yellow-fronted Amazon parrots. They are a beautiful bright green in body coloration and have a large patch of yellow that covers the forehead. The tui is distributed along the entire length of the Amazon River as well as its tributaries. This bird is the favorite childhood pet of the tribal peoples that live along the Amazon. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, before there was the requirement of quarantine in the U.S., these birds were imported in fair numbers. Unfortunately, this was a time in history, when there was no interest in breeding Brotogeris in captivity. Shortly after this, the countries that were permitting their export banned all exportation of birds. At present, the bird is almost nonexistent in the U.S.

Master aviculturist Robbie Harris from California has been lucky enough to obtain a few birds and is making a valiant effort to re-establish them in captivity.

The entire family does well on a seed-based diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. We feed sprouted beans along with a "cockatiel" seed mixture. They also get diced carrots, apple and corn. We dust these items with wheat grass powder (green food supplement) and an all-inclusive vitamin and mineral supplement. This diet has kept them strong, healthy and productive for many years.

Pellets can also be considered if you don't have the time to feed them a varied diet. They are not only very hardy birds, they also have the ability to be quite long-lived for their size. I was personally acquainted with one that lived to the ripe old age of 35 years.

Whether you would like to have them as a lifetime companion or as a breeding investment, sharing your home with members of the Brotogeris family is a rewarding experience.

Reprinted with permission.

Howard Voren in the founder and director of the Voren Research Institute for Psittacultural Science and has bred several species of Brotogeris for the last 10 years. Article originally appeared in the May 1997 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author.

The Grey-Cheeked Parakeet and Its Family

2010-08-28T20:00:00.000-06:00

by Robbie Harris

The ever popular grey-cheeked parakeet is part of a genus of birds called Brotogeris. This group has seven species, with the grey cheek now being the most popular.

More than 30 years ago, the bee-bee parrot (also known as the orange-chinned parakeet) was the member of the Brotogeris genus that most people sought out as a pet. Bee bees were offered for sale in most pet shops, and even today, people over the age of 70 are still calling me looking for bee-bee parrots. This bird was a very popular little pet back in its time. The orange-chinned parakeet also goes by the name of the Tovi parakeet, but the bee bee nickname is the most common name used for this bird.

Many years later, over a decade ago, a new little bird was imported here into the United States. These cute little birds stole the hearts of almost everyone who came into contact with them. The birds would beg for human attention, practically screaming, "Hold me, hug me, love me!" For years, the import stations would sell out quickly--many times in just a couple of days. The name of this charming import was the Grey-cheeked parakeet.

The grey cheek imports were hand-reared babies, and that is the only reason they came into the country so tame. Grey cheeks are far from naturally tame birds. A wild-caught adult bird can be just as nippy and feisty as a wild lovebird imported grey cheeks were very young babies that were hand-reared in Ecuador and Peru. For years, the chicks were hand-fed right here in U.S. quarantine stations by employed hand-feeders. Babies were hand-fed a baby food formula two to three times a day until they were able to eat solid foods on their own.

The general care and breeding of all Brotogeris is the same. All the birds in this family make excellent pets when purchased as very young hand-fed babies. The most commonly available is the grey cheek, followed by the canary wing, the Tovi, the cobalt wing, and the golden wing. Until very recently, these were the only Brotogeris being bred in the United States. Now, the Tui parakeet--the most beautiful to me--is being bred here, too (by me). These birds will not be available as pets for many years; aviculturists must establish pairs of them for future breeding. Establishing breeding pairs first and selling pets second is very important for all uncommon species.

Some of the young and adult Brotogeris will tame with much patience and time, but nothing can compare to a hand-reared baby. These by far make the best pets. Grey cheeks and their relatives are highly intelligent, which has contributed to their popularity as house pets. They are very bold, and even though they are only 7 to 8 inches long with a weight of 50 to 60 grams, they will challenge a parrot three times their size.

Members of the Brotogeris genus often become very attached to their owners. Their chattering voices can become loud at times (this happens more frequently with grey cheeks than with the other species). A single bird kept as a pet, however, is usually not very noisy. Most birds learn to vocalize because their new owners run to pick them up or remove them from their cages at the first sound of a peep, thinking, "How cute, he's calling me." Soon, the bird learns to expect attention when it calls. If the bird is ignored, it just continues to scream louder and longer, hoping someone will hear and come to play with it like they used to do. Remember, birds, like all animals and people, learn by association. Take your pet out to play when it is being quiet, never when it is being noisy. Don't teach your bird to call you, and you could end up with a quieter pet.

When purchasing a young, weaned bird, try to be sure of its age. Once the babies of most Brotogeris are fully feathered and weaned, they resemble their adult parents. If you are a novice with birds, you may find it difficult to determine the true age of your fully feathered pet; many young and older birds look very much the same. Healthy baby Brotogeris are feathered by the time they are 7 weeks of age. The most important thing is to buy your bird from a reliable source, whether it's a breeder or pet shop.

Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris pyrrhopterus)

The most common of all Brotogeris, the grey cheek has also been referred to as the pocket parrot, the orange-flanked and the orange-winged parakeet. This brightly colored green bird is paler on its underparts. The gray chin, forehead and cheeks are what give this bird its name. The primary coverts are blue, and the crown is bluish. The grey cheek is the only Brotogeris with a bright-orange patch on its underwing coverts, which sometimes can just be seen as a touch of orange on the shoulder tips. When a grey cheek lifts its wing, the large orange area can clearly be seen.

Very young chicks are easy to identify by their prominent black beaks. The black-colored beak will soon turn to the horn color of an adult, usually by the time the chick reaches 6 months of age. Range: Western Ecuador and northwestern Peru

Canary-winged Parakeet (B. versicolurus chiriri)

This is a bright apple-green-colored bird, lighter colored on its underparts. A large band of bright canary-yellow color appears on the secondary coverts. This, of course, gives this bird its common name. There is a slight tinge of blue to the flight feathers. I often see canary wings offered for sale as domestic babies. Range: Parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina

White-winged Parakeet (B. v. versicolurus)

This bird, the nominate race of its species, differs from the canary wing in many ways, almost so much that it seems hard to believe they are just different subspecies rather than entirely different species. First of all, the white wing's green color is darker and slightly more olive-colored. The white-winged parakeet also has a canary-yellow color on the wing and a large patch of white as well. With this bird's wings folded, the white often does not show. White wings also have less facial feathering around the beak and eye areas.

My son Larry has a domestic white wing for a pet, which I raised. This little bird just adores him and will fly to him when he calls her. Larry plays with her as if she were a toy. She'll lie on her back and stand on her head, and stay in that position until he stands her back upright. She has complete trust in him. She also speaks a few words that were not taught to her, things she heard and picked up. Her favorite word is "Larry," which she yells when he is not around. Range: Parts of Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru

Orange-chinned Parakeet (B. jugularis)

Back in the 1950s, 1960s and even the 1970s, it seemed like anyone who knew anything about a bird knew what a bee-bee parrot (also known as the Tovi parakeet) was; these birds were commonly kept as pets. Many were brought in the country and tamed for pets. They are mainly a bright-green color with lighter shades of green on the underparts. A bright-orange spot can be seen right under the lower mandible, which gives this bird its common name. A large yellow patch can be found on the underwing coverts. There is a blue tinge to the crown, lower back, rump, thighs, and under the tail and flight feathers. Range: Areas of Mexico, Columbia, and Venezuela

Cobalt-winged Parakeet (B. cyanoptera cyanoptera)

Like the orange-chinned parakeet, this bird has an orange chin spot. The forehead is yellow, and the crown is a bluish color. This birds earns its common name from the wing flights and primary coverts, which are a bright cobalt blue. The central tail feathers also have blue, and the underside of the tail is a yellowish green. The overall color is a dark, almost olive, green.

Back in 1983, I received the first U.S. breeding award from the American Federation of Aviculture for breeding the cobalt-winged parakeet. Since then, I've bred large numbers of these beautiful birds, with my third generation now producing young. Range: Part of Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia

Golden-winged Parakeet (B. chrysopterus chrysopterus)

This bird gets its name from the small orange patch on its outer primary wing coverts. A brownish-orange chin spot is present just under the lower mandible. The forehead has a band of dark brown. The main color of this bird is a very dark shade of green. The crown has a blue tinge, as do the cheeks and flights. This is the shortest Brotogeris, at about 6 1/2 to 7 inches, and the stoutest. Range: Areas of Venezuela, Guiana, and Brazil

Tui Parakeet (B. sanctithomae sanctithomae)

This beautiful bright-green bird has a forehead that is yellow, and this yellow extends to the crown. It looks very much like a small 7-inch version of the yellow-crowned Amazon parrot.

Most Brotogeris have a light-colored beak when mature, but the Tui has a very distinctive chestnut-colored beak. The wing flights are a bluish green, brighter blue on the primary coverts. A tinge of blue can be found on the nape, cheeks and undersides of the wing flights.

My young chicks, when just feathered, had dark eyes. As they grew, now more than 6 months of age, their eyes have lightened. When mature, the iris is a glowing golden color. All other Brotogeris have very dark eyes.

Most books state that there is no breeding of this species in captivity. I am breeding these birds and hope to get breeding pairs well established. The adorable chicks are a real challenge to retain for breeding stock; they would have made beautiful pets. I am resisting this temptation, however, to create and establish large numbers of breeding pairs before I ever consider them suitable for the pet market. Range: Areas of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia

Plain Parakeet (B. tirica)

This bird is also known as the all-green parakeet, with this title describing the bird's basic overall color. The plain parakeet lacks the color of other Brotogeris. A bluish tinge is on the hind neck, mantle and underside of the tail. The upper back and wing coverts have a brownish tinge. This bird is not available in the United States. A blue mutation is part of a bird collection in Brazil. Range: Brazil

Brotogeris Diet

A good diet with a variety of foods is very important for these birds to help them maintain excellent health. An improper diet can result in vitamin deficiencies that lower birds' immunities toward diseases.

A well-balanced diet for Brotogeris must contain a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Many diets on the pet market today are called complete diets--such as pellet-type diets. As nutritious as these foods might be, Brotogeris need fresh fruits and vegetable in their daily diet. Even if the manufacturers of pelleted diets insist their foods are complete, please offer fruits and vegetables along with the pellets. My birds have done very well on their diet for 20 years now. The following is what I feed my breeding birds as well as my pets.

As a staple food, I offer a seed mix containing a medium-size sunflower seed, safflower seed and a parakeet mix (containing 42-percent canary seed). This food is available to my birds at all times. A good cockatiel seed mix should work just fine for pet grey cheeks or other Brotogeris. Included in their dietary needs is fresh clean water and a mineral block. The mineral block I use is the all-in-one mineral block that contains grit, oyster shell and minerals. Each day, various fruits and vegetables can be offered to your birds. Keep in mind different individual birds prefer different things. The various foods I offer are apples, oranges, peas (fresh or frozen), corn (fresh or frozen), beets, carrots, and greens (spinach, collards or Swiss chard). These can usually be found year round at your grocery store. Additional foods, when in season, are also good to include. These foods include grapes, cherries, plums, pears, bananas, peaches, squash, papaya, and sweet potato (baked and cooled). Other nutritious items include multi-grain wheat bread and breakfast cereals.

Never feed avocado. I know of many birds that have died after eating this fruit. Never use spoiled or overripe produce. To ensure that no insecticides remain, make certain all fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed before you offer them to your birds. Also purchase a good bird vitamin and lightly dust it on fruits and vegetables at each feeding.

Housing

A simple, safe cage--like one for a budgie or cockatiel--will do just fine for a single pet grey cheek or any other Brotogeris. If using a cockatiel cage, make sure the bars are spaced close enough together so that the bird cannot get its head between them. Many birds injure themselves or worse by getting their heads caught.

Playgrounds with toys and various foods make great play areas for pet grey cheeks. Be sure to supervise your curious pet when it is out of its cage. Grey cheeks are known to get themselves into mischief, so keep a close eye on your pet. If enough toys and treats are kept on their play areas, it helps keep these energetic parrots from wandering off. Many good, healthy treats are available at pet shops, and they should keep your pet happily entertained.

Other interesting treats that seem to amuse my birds are different types of breakfast cereals. Trix now comes in different colors and shapes that seem to generate interest from birds. Other fun cereals come in O's, such as Cheerios.

Breeding

Both sexes of Brotogeris species look alike, so picking pairs can prove difficult. I have all my birds surgically sexed by a competent veterinarian who specializes in birds. Yes, problems can arise from surgical sexing, and a bird can be lost, but this is very rare. I suggest that people do not surgically sex their pets, but have the sex determined by other methods available, such as DNA and feather chromosome analysis.

Sometimes the hens seem more petite in the head and face, and the males may be a bit larger in size. Keep in mind this, too, is not always true when picking out birds; there are many large hens and some very small males.

In the wild, Brotogeris nest in termite mounds found in trees. Aviculturists are unable to come up with these mounds in captivity, so we use the next best thing: wooden nest boxes. I line my Brotogeris nest boxes with a soft type of cork that is used for ceiling and wall covering. This cork comes in 12-inch square tiles. I can easily break these tiles into any size when working with them. I attach the cork lining with a nontoxic glue, such as a white school glue.

At the bottom of the nest box, I place a 2- to 4-inch layer of white pine shavings. The birds will toss out any or all that they do not want inside, so don't worry if your Brotogeris thinks you added too many shavings and send them flying everywhere.

I breed and house only one pair of birds per cage. Quarreling can and does happen when two pairs occupy the same cage. These birds are very capable of killing one another when fighting over territory, so keep this in mind when setting them up for breeding. I live in Southern California where the weather is somewhat mild all year. My birds do well outdoors all through the year. In areas where the weather is good, these birds do just fine outdoors, but they will breed well indoors too. I have seen people breeding grey cheeks right in their living rooms with all the family commotions going on. These grey cheeks seemed to feel right at home and went ahead with their own business. When these birds are ready to breed, there is no stopping them.

I have had very young pairs go right to nest and produce young even before they were a year old. I set up my breeding pairs close together so they can see one another. Grey cheeks remind me of the old saying, "monkey see, monkey do." If one pair starts breeding, many times the other pairs follow and do the very same thing. This type of behavior can send the whole colony to nest, so sometimes it is a good idea to set up individual pairs close together within sight of each other.

The average clutch size is four eggs, but they can lay as many as seven. Usually, however, they will not raise that many on their own. If there are large clutches, I step in and help out, usually by removing some of the older chicks for handfeeding. Many times I have even raised all the chicks from day 1, hatching them in my incubator.

I feel an incubator is a must for anyone who owns breeding birds--even one pair. Many incubators are very inexpensive, costing under $150. One life saved will more than pay for that incubator. I use the incubators put out by Lyon Electric. I run at least six of them at all times during breeding season, hatching eggs as small as a parrotlet's and as large as a big macaw's. When incubating Brotogeris eggs in an incubator, I can candle the eggs in just four days and see the embryo developing (I use the M.D.S. probelite). But when candling eggs under a pair, it could take close to two weeks before I can see if the eggs are alive.

Many Brotogeris do not start incubating their eggs until the last egg has been laid. They may look like they are incubating when they actually are not. Usually an egg is laid every other day, so the complete laying process could take almost two weeks.

Don't discard any eggs until you are absolutely sure the eggs are no good. I have known too many people who broke open eggs that they thought were no good because of the length of time they were in the nest box, only to find a live under-developed chick inside. Incubation is about 26 days from the time the hen starts to sit and actually incubate her eggs. Candle yours eggs about one week after the last egg was laid to be sure of what is happening inside of them.

Most of my Brotogeris, which are set up outdoors all year, start to breed in late winter or early spring. Most usually lay one clutch per year. A few will lay two clutches per year, and on very rare occasions, three times per year. Birds set up indoors may breed anytime they please, even nesting numerous times a year. Remember, each pair is different and has its own individual personality.

Sometimes, owners of grey cheeks become upset when their cuddly pets become aggressive and nippy. If this happens, it is usually an indication of sexual maturity and the birds' desire to breed. Instead of getting rid of their pets like some owners do, these people should buy mates for their birds and supply them with nest boxes.

Hand-Fed Brotogeris Pets

Hand-fed Brotogeris make excellent pets. When raising Brotogeris chicks, it is best to remove them from the next box for hand-rearing between 2 to 3 weeks of age. If the parents raise them all the way to weaning, the chicks may not end up tame, and too much work may be necessary to tame them into sweet, trusting pets.

Handfeeding them at about 3 weeks of age is easy. You can make your own formula or buy a good commercial formula. Many different brands are offered in pet shops. For grey cheeks, as well as any of the other Brotogeris, I would be sure to add some baby food fruits and vegetables. A couple of different varieties are available at grocery stores, and you can add a very small amount to the formula at each feeding. Applesauce, peas, green beans, corn and sweet potato are just a few that may be good choices to add. Add one or two types of fruit or vegetable per feeding.

All hand-reared Brotogeris make excellent pets. Grey cheeks are the most sought after of the Brotogeris because their availability has made them popular. Many people became owners of imported, handfed grey cheeks unexpectedly when they walked into a pet shop to browse. These tame birds just begged for attention, and before the unsuspecting person knew what was happening, he or she became a new bird owner. Soon the word spread that the grey cheek was the only bird to own as a pet. Well, this is just not true. There are lots of really nice birds out there, but the key thing to remember is that they should be hand-fed and tame. Make sure the bird is tame when you get it. You should be able to handle the bird at ease without getting nipped.

There are other Brotogeris besides the grey cheek that are being bred and make just as nice and wonderful pets. Canary-winged and Tovi parakeets are often offered for sale and make great pets when hand-fed. Cobalt-winged parakeets are rarely available, but when they are, they, too, make excellent pets.

Importation Ending

We as birdkeepers and breeders need to be aware of bird-related issues in our world that change quickly. New regulations concerning animals are being drafted all the time, and imported birds that some of us took for granted may soon be unavailable.

A few years ago, new regulations were put into affect that would no longer allow the importation of baby birds unless they were eating on their own, requiring no handfeeding at all during their quarantine stay. All imported birds had to be completely self-sufficient. The day of the real baby grey cheek as a pet may soon end unless they are domestically reared in larger numbers. Most of the grey cheeks imported were still young and tame, because they were hand-reared in their country of origin.

Now there has been an even newer regulation that has just gone into effect pertaining to grey cheeks. This has stopped all imported grey cheeks from entering the United States. Now, anyone wanting a tame grey cheek is totally dependent on grey cheek breeders. The most unfortunate thing about this situation is that there are very few bird breeders keeping and breeding grey cheeks and other Brotogeris. Something must be done quickly to set up pairs for future breeders to enjoy. Right now, there are still large numbers of grey cheeks in the United States. Pairs can still easily be put together. Soon, however, it may be next to impossible to procure these birds.

Look at the very popular bee-bee parrot, a formerly popular member of the Brotogeris group that has practically disappeared. There were large numbers of these birds at one time too. Now it takes some effort to find even one for sale. This is what could easily happen to the grey cheek if people do not start obtaining them and creating true pairs for breeding.

Soon, if not already, the famous grey-cheeked parakeet will be very difficult to find--especially tame sweet babies. Regulations to stop all birds from entering our country may soon be imposed. With all the deforestation, very few birds may be left on earth at all. Domestic breeding of birds is a must!

I can remember telling people that when importation closes, the price of grey cheeks will soar. Well, that time has finally come. The shortage of grey cheeks here may not be felt for some time because of the large numbers that were imported in the past few years. But the number of available baby grey cheeks has now been cut drastically.

Yes, they do take some work and patience to breed successfully, but believe me, they are well worth the effort. These birds should not only be kept as pets but bred as well to assure a future supply. If this does not happen, they may disappear for good.

Article originally appeared in the March 1993 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author and Bird Talk magazine.

Grey Cheeks are Great

2010-08-27T21:30:00.002-06:00

by Robbie Harris

The popular little 8-inch grey-cheeked parakeet has captured the hearts of millions of bird fanciers as well as impulse buyers who just happened to walk aimlessly through a pet shop one day with no idea that they would become happy grey cheeks owners.

Most people know this bird (Brotogeris pyrrhopterus) by its common name, the grey-cheeked parakeet, but it is also called the orange-flanked parakeet, the orange-winged parakeet and the pocket parrot. The main color of this small parrot is bright green; its underparts are a little paler. The forehead, cheeks and chin are gray, and the large, bright orange patches on the underwing coverts are the basis for two of its alternative names. The orange color just peeks over the tips of the shoulders as the bird sits on a perch with both wings held close to its body, but when the bird lifts its wings, the bright orange patch is clearly visible. The wing coverts are blue, and the primary feathers are a greenish blue. There is also a bluish tint to the crown.

Very young grey cheeks are easily distinguished from adults by the upper beak, which is gray to black in color. The younger the bird, the blacker the beak. Usually by the time the young bird is 6 months old, the beak has lightened to the horn color of the adults. After the beak changes color, it is hard to determine the age of the bird. Young grey-cheeked parakeets are usually just as colorful as the adults.

Wonderful Pets If Hand-Fed

Grey cheeks inhabit a small range in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. When they were first introduced into the United States in large numbers (less than a decade ago), they were very inexpensive. Thousands were imported, and most of them were completely tame and sweet, costing from only $25 to $35 each. A good friend of mine who retails birds purchased 150 grey cheeks the first time they were imported in such large numbers. Within five days, he sold every one of those virtually unknown little parrots, and customers were begging for more. Needless to say, the quarantine station quickly sold out of all the grey-cheeked parakeets in stock. To this day, when grey cheeks are imported, a good many of them are spoken for even before the birds are released from the month-long U.S. quarantine.

Most people are unaware that grey cheeks are not naturally tame. I have seen many adult imports that were just as nippy and feisty as a wild lovebird. Tame, sweet imported grey cheeks are birds that have been hand-reared. The South Americans remove the chicks from the nests and accustom the young birds to being handled and fed by humans. Thousands are collected for future sale to foreign bird dealers. Often the young grey cheeks are not even cracking hard seed when they arrive in quarantine stations. These grey cheeks are fed cooked cracked corn and/or soaked monkey biscuits. Sometimes grey cheeked chicks have to be hand-fed by quarantine station employees.

Some bird breeders have allowed the parents to fledge their own young because the people thought that hand-feeding grey cheek chicks would be a waste of time--that the chicks would be tame no matter how they were raised. Most of these domestically bred, parent-raised chicks became completely wild, nippy birds.

Choosing and Keeping a Pet

When purchasing a grey cheek for a pet, start with a young, tame bird. This types makes the best pet because it is playful and may learn to talk. My son's pet grey cheek will come to him no matter where he is in the house. When he calls Peppy, she flies right to him. She also returns to her cage on command. Peppy trusts Larry enough to lie still on her back in his hand until he tells her to roll over. This little parrot has the personality of a larger parrot yet is a compact size. I have also noticed that my grey cheeks seem to be extremely intelligent.

Any cage suitable for a cockatiel will do just fine for a pet grey cheek. Perches should be 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter; dowels too large or too small could cause foot problems. Natural branch perches are always welcomed for climbing and chewing.

Grey cheeks love to play on open playpens with treats and safe toys. They should, however, be supervised when out of their cages because they can be very mischievous and wander off, possibly damaging furnishings or endangering themselves.

Grey cheeks, like all other birds, need a well-balanced diet to be healthy and strong. Our grey cheeks are offered parakeet mix, safflower seed and medium sunflower seed. If more convenient, a good cockatiel mix is suitable. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a vital part of the diet that all our grey cheeks love. Each day they receive a bowl of various soft foods such as sprouted seeds, apples, oranges, peaches, bananas, grapes, peas, corn (fresh or frozen), spinach, grated carrots or beets, or whatever is in season at the time. Grey cheeks, young and old, also relish monkey biscuits soaked in water or fruit juice. Some grey cheeks even enjoy meal worms as a special treat (which are a good source of protein).

To illustrate how unusual some of their personalities can be, I had a pair of grey cheeks who began dumping the contents of their soft food bowl when their first clutch of chicks hatched. Even when I refilled the bowl, they turned it over. For days, I kept offering them the soft food mixture over and over. Then one day when I scooped some of the soft food in their bowl, the pair ran over to it chattering with excitement. They immediately started to pick out all the peas--that particular scoop of soft food contained extra peas. This time they did not tip over their bowl. The next time I fed them, I put extra peas on top of the soft foods, and again the pair was excited, and the bowl remained right-side up. I soon figured out that when this particular pair has chicks in the nest, they demand extra peas, and if not given their way, the soft food goes flying. Once the chicks are removed for hand-rearing, this pair acts "normal" again, content with my usual mixture of soft foods.

Breeding Grey Cheeks

Grey-cheeked parakeets can be bred in cages or aviaries. They are very hard to sex because they are not sexually dimorphic. In some cases, males appear to have slightly larger heads and beaks than females, but this is not necessarily reliable. The most accurate way to determine the bird's sex is to have the bird surgically sexed. Keep in mind that surgical sexing is an operation that can be more risky with smaller birds, so find an experienced vet to perform this procedure. In small birds, the dosage of anesthetic can be critical. Grey cheeks seem to recover best if they are kept warm while they are waking up from the surgery. I advise against having a special pet surgically sexed just out of curiosity. The risk is justified only if you intend to breed the bird.

When setting up pairs of grey cheeks for breeding, give each pair its own cage or aviary. Breeding pairs can become quite ill-tempered when getting ready to go to nest and may even kill other birds in the same enclosure. I've had even the tamest pair of grey cheeks become vicious toward me, lashing out to attack while I am trying to feed them or clean their cage. Our pairs use standard parakeet nest boxes with a layer of pine shavings on the bottom. There is no set number of eggs per clutch. A clutch can be as small as three eggs and as large as eight, but our normal clutch size averages four to six eggs. (I had one hen that laid an egg every other day for about six weeks; this is not normal!)

The incubation period is 25 to 26 days, but some fertile eggs do not hatch for more than a month after they are laid. Some birds seem to start incubation only when they are almost finished laying all the eggs in the clutch. The hen may stay in the box with her newly laid eggs, but she may not sit tightly until at least three or more eggs have been laid. Usually the hen does most of the incubation with the male standing guard just outside the box. Both parents tend the chicks when they start to hatch.

Because the hens do not start to set until they have laid three or more eggs, it is not unusual to have the first three eggs hatch on the same day. The chicks are tiny, smaller than baby budgies, but they grow rapidly. At 12 days old, their eyes are open, and within two more days, dark quills can be seen developing under the skin. This is the time to start pulling babies for hand-feeding. Because grey cheeks have such large clutches, the nest can become quite crowded, and the parents must work very hard to feed all those hungry mouths. Hand feeders have learned that it's best to first take the largest two or three chicks, leaving the rest with the parents, then take a couple more several days later.

Grey cheek chicks are a pleasure to hand-feed if the parents have done a good job for the first two weeks. Before that, they are almost too small to handle and, unfortunately, they are almost impossible to foster. After the two-week point, they eat eagerly and grow rapidly, and even before they are feathered, they are showing the bold, affectionate personality that endears them to pet owners. Although they are small, their nutritional needs are the same as other South American parrots, so grey cheeks will thrive on a baby formula that has been successfully used on larger parrots.

At about 4 weeks old, feathers start to pop through the quills on the tail and wings, soon followed by color on the rest of the body. If left with their parents, chicks fledge at about 6 weeks old, with both parents continually feeding the chicks outside the nest box until they are eating on their own. By the time they are 9 weeks old, the babies are usually weaned and eating mostly soft foods.

When the chicks are eating on their own, they should be removed so the adult breeders can return to nest. Most of my pairs have only one clutch per year, but there are some that double- and even triple-clutch. One excellent pair raises three clutches a year, averaging four chicks per clutch, between February and July.

Breeding Indoors or Outdoors

The grey cheek is a very hardy bird housed outdoors in Southern California weather. An indoor pair can be kept outside (weather permitting) as long as they are properly acclimated to the weather conditions. Late spring to summer, when the evening temperature does not drop below 55 degrees Farenheit, is usually the best time to move birds outdoors. Our birds are housed outdoors year-round and survive weather as hot as 118 degrees in the summer and as cold as 28 degrees in the winter. Of course, they have shade and shelter to protect them from the elements.

The grey-cheeked parakeet will hybridize with most other Brotogeris species, given the opportunity. One of our grey-cheeked hens who was temporarily housed with a male canary-winged parakeet laid a fertile egg, but the egg did not hatch. I have heard of other grey cheeks that were paired with other Brotogeris, however, producing hybrid chicks.

More people should be encouraged to set up pairs of grey cheeks for breeding. I know of several people who have set up their pairs of grey cheek pets by attaching a parakeet nest box to their cage in the living room. Many of these birds have gone to nest and raised chicks right there in the midst of normal household activities. Two pet birds can become a family. Their cute chicks can be sold or given as gifts to friends or family, thereby spreading the joy and pleasure of owning these precious little characters.

In the past couple of years, relatively few grey-cheeked parakeets have been imported into the United States. Most of the grey cheeks hatched in the world end up as single pets to spend their lives in cages. The wild population is dwindling. When there are no more imports, we will have to rely on domestically bred grey cheeks. We must start now if we are to assure that grey cheeks can still be available, popular pets in the next decade.

Article originally appeared in the November 1987 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author and Bird Talk magazine.

More About Grey Cheeks

2010-08-27T21:15:00.001-06:00

by Robbie Harris

The grey-cheeked parakeet is the most common of all the Brotogeris. When first introduced into the U.S. in large numbers in the late 1970s, they were very inexpensive (costing between $25 to $35 each). Thousands were imported here with almost all of them completely tame and sweet. A good friend of mine, Frank Lanier, of California, purchase 150 newly imported grey cheeks. This was the first time he had seen this type of bird offered for sale. He said as he reached into the cage (in the quarantine station), a number of these little birds rushed toward him. He thought at first they were coming to attack, but instead they were all pushing toward him for attention and affection. he did not know that all of these imported grey cheeks had been hand-fed. He said they covered his arm like a swarm of bees. It was very hard to pick which one he wanted because they were all tame and sweet. Within five days, he sold every one of those virtually unknown parrots, and his customers were begging for more.

Within days, the quarantine station quickly sold out of all the grey-cheeked parakeets in stock. As the years went on, thousands more entered the U.S. Unfortunately, very few, considering the numbers, ended up as breeders. This shortage will only continue unless more people set them up for breeding now. This past year, I raided a couple dozen, with demand a much higher price than back in the 1980s. With all the changes of U.S. regulations, the cost of grey cheeks have increased tremendously. This is because there is a much higher demand than supply of these birds. I see baby hand-fed grey cheeks priced as high as $600 each in pet shops now. This demand is unreal for these birds! The other Brotogeris are less expensive.

Most people are unaware of the fact that grey cheeks are not naturally tame. Many hear the word grey cheek and instantly think of a sweet, tame little bird. Let me clarify something--not all grey cheeks are sweet, little things. I've seen the sweetest babies in quarantine stations that had just been imported from Peru. But, on the other hand, I have also seen wild-caught imported grey cheeks that were just as nippy and feisty as wild lovebirds. The sweet grey cheeks that were imported were birds that had been hand-reared. The natives would remove the chicks from the nests and hand-feed them for future sale to foreign bird dealers. Thousands were collected to be exported out of South America.

Many times the young grey cheeks were not even cracking hard seed yet when they arrived into the U.S. and were placed in private (government-controlled) quarantine stations. Those grey cheeks were fed cooked, soft cracked corn and/or soaked primate biscuits. Sometimes there were even really young grey cheek chicks in quarantine that still had to be hand-fed by the station employees. I was told that the losses of baby grey-cheeked parakeets in quarantine were almost none. They were quite hardy in quarantine and took to hand-feeding very well.

I've talked to some bird breeders who successfully raised a clutch of grey cheek chicks and allowed the parents to fledge their own young. They believed that hand-feeding grey cheek chicks would be a waste of time because they would be tame no matter how the chicks were raised. Many of these newly weaned, domestically bred and parent-raised chicks were completely wild and nippy. So, if a grey cheek is wanted for a pet, not for breeding, be sure that the bird is already tame.

Very young grey cheeks are easily distinguishable from adults because the upper beak is black. The younger the bird, the blacker the beak. Usually, by the time the young bird is 5 months old, the beak is the same color as the adult. Once the beak changes color, it is difficult to determine the age of the bird. My young, feathered grey-cheeked parakeet chicks are usually just as colorful as the adults.

The tame, hand-reared chicks make wonderful companions to their human owners. They are so intelligent that many times one must stop and wonder if there is a little person inside. For a pet, either sex is equal in talking ability, companionship and entertainment.

My son had a pet grey cheek that came to him no matter where he was in the house. When he called Peppy, she flew right to him. She also returned to her cage on command. She was a real character. She liked to chase his wallet, a game she came up with years ago. He would put Peppy on the floor or on a table. He'd keep moving his wallet, and no matter how fast, she would run after it to bite it. He would hold on to the wallet, and just as Peppy ran up to bite it, he'd life up the wallet and move it a food or so. Peppy kept chasing it to give it that nip. Every time she did get it, she seemed so proud of herself.

Peppy, like many Brotogeris pets, learned to lie on her back in the palm of a hand until she was told she could roll over. Peppy has since passed on, but my son has a pet white-winged parakeet about 10 years old now that is just as wonderful of a pet. She, too, will lie on her back in his hand, and she is just as playful and loving.

Article originally appeared in the June 1998 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author and Bird Talk magazine.

Pockets Full of Pleasure

2010-08-27T21:00:00.008-06:00

by Robbie Harris

Brotogeris is the Latin name for a group of small parrots admired for their tameness and affection toward their owners, as well as their intelligence and pet qualities. More than a half century ago, "bee bee" parrots filled the hearts of many pet bird lovers. These loving pets were actually the orange-chinned parakeets, also known as Tovi parakeets. The pet shops always had an abundance of these birds. Young and adults were quickly snatched up by bird lovers for their ability to be easily tamed into wonderful, intelligent family pets. Tame Brotogeris act like large parrots in compact form, and they crave attention from their owners.

As the years went on, many other Brotogeris were attached with the common name bee bee parrot--such as the canary-winged and white-winged parakeets. Even cobalt-winged parakeets were once released from a quarantine station labeled and priced as bee bee parrots.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the grey-cheeked parakeet came into the picture as the pet bird to have. Thousands were imported, with almost all of them being tame and sweet. Within days of a shipment of grey cheeks arriving in the United States, the word got out, and the demand was bigger than expected. They were all sold before they were even released from the 30-day quarantine stations. From then on, the demand was big and constant; orders for these birds were coming in from all over the country.

Even now, the demand is great and popularity is still growing. Grey-cheeked parakeets quickly earned the nickname "pocket parrot" as they became household pets because they love to climb inside their owners' shirt pockets and stay there, just poking out their heads. I even heard of someone who walked into a pet store and a grey cheek jumped onto her shoulder and quickly found her shirt pocket and climbed in. The name pocket parrot was soon attached to other birds as well. I have heard people call most Brotogeris pocket parrots, and even parrotlets have been called pocket parrots. But, just as a bit of trivia, remember that the true pocket parrot is the grey-cheeked parakeet.

One can only have high hopes that these wonderful birds will not disappear in the U.S. with many people so enthusiastic about Brotogeris. However, less and less are available following the importation restrictions of CITES. In order to maintain this species in captivity, we breeders must put our efforts into these birds, or they will no longer be available in the states.

Back in the late 1980s, I published a Brotogeris newsletter called Grey Cheek and Company. I continued it for some years, but it became too much work and quite costly for a single person to run. It created lots of phone calls and letters containing questions that need to be answered. My book Grey-cheeked Parakeets and Other Brotogeris (published by T.H.F.) appears to now be out of print due to not enough demand.

In the 1980s and into the '90s, the spread of grey cheeks was like an epidemic. Once a person had one, many of his or her friends and family were soon struck with the uncontrollable desire to own one (or two, or three). Many people took it upon themselves to get two for household pets. With a good diet and a roomy cage containing a nest box, grey cheek lovers hoped that the two would soon have more little grey cheeks. Many have had such luck.

Appearance and Distribution

The following birds, listed by their common names, are part of the genus classified as Brotogeris: grey-cheeked, canary-winged, white-winged, orange-chinned, cobalt-winged, golden-winged, tui, and plain parakeets. The members of Brotogeris are distributed from southern Mexico down through central South America.

They range in length from 7 to 9 inches, somewhat similar to lovebirds in size, but more slender. Brotogeris have full-feathered wedge-shaped tails varying in length (some have short tails, and other species have longer ones). The wings are long and pointed, which enable them to be swift fliers.

All these birds are mainly green in color with many having other colors on the forehead, chin, primaries and under the wing coverts. The beak is a similar shape to an Amazon parrot (but much smaller, of course) with the upper mandible deeply notched in a hook-like fashion. Their small, naked eye ring makes them resemble the conure family. Both sexes are alike, and the young babies closely resemble the adult birds.

Many Brotogeris species are overly abundant in their native lands. Thousands had been brought into the U.S. quarantine stations in the past, but this importing practice is over. The first and most frequently imported Brotogeris was the orange-chinned parakeet (more commonly referred to as the bee bee parrot). They were well known as extremely good pets. Later, other Brotogeris were imported in large numbers into the U.S., such as the grey-cheeked parakeet and canary-winged parakeet.

Sometimes stragglers of the less common Brotogeris were in these large batches. Many years ago, I received a phone call from a pet store owner to come down to the shop to see the unusual bee bees that had just come out of quarantine. They were not bee bees--they were cobalt-winged parakeets.

After carefully examining the birds, I purchased four that I hoped to be two pairs. I chose them correctly (using the pelvic bone method). Soon, one pair nested, rewarding me with the U.S. First Breeding Award for this species. Years later, I acquired a few tui parakeets that came into quarantine; that, too, gave me another U.S. First Breeding Award.

Personality

Brotogeris are quite bold, even though they are compact parrots. One may challenge a parrot two to three times its own size. Many learn to talk quite clearly and can be taught tricks. Some grey cheeks will make a cooing sound when very content, usually when they are resting quietly on their owner's shoulders. Some have also been successfully "potty trained" by being instructed to go back to their cage with a keyword, or by the owner saying a keyword letting the bird know it is all right to do its thing.

I know of a baby female grey cheek that I sold for a pet that learned to speak more than 30 words. Not only would she speak, but she learned to associate words with meanings very much like many African grey parrots learn to do.

The grey-cheeked parakeet, as well as most any Brotogeris, can make an excellent family or single-person pet. Most birds bond so closely with their owners that they are considered family members.

Sometimes problems arise when a bird first receives a lot of attention, and later is neglected when the newness wears off. Remember, they love attention, so try not to forget that they need time with their owners. Because they are very intelligent and playful, these birds can become bored when just left in their cages. They can start the nasty habit of feather plucking.

Keep them occupied with safe toys and bird treats, such as chew sticks or a cracked open walnut. Rotate toys and playthings so they do not get bored. Chewable toys can help keep their beaks in proper shape. Some birds do tend to develop overgrown beaks, and an experienced avian vet or bird groomer can easily trim the beak if needed. Also, supply a water bowl large enough that they can bathe at will.

Sometimes their chattering voices can become an annoyance. But, a single bird kept as a pet is usually not too noisy. The main thing here is to not teach your bird to be a screamer. Many people, without realizing it, teach their bird that screaming gets them attention. Never reward your bird in any way if it is screaming. Do not take it out because it is noisy or offer a treat just to quiet it down. Take them out of their cage for play time only when they are quiet.

Brotogeris Species

The following are descriptions of the various Brotogeris. Some birds can be smaller or larger, depending on their sex or the individual bird itself. Mature males do, at times, seem to be a bit heavier.

Orange-chinned Parakeet

The 7-inch orange chin (B. jugularis) is also commonly known as the tovi parakeet and the bee bee parrot. This bird is the true bee bee parrot. It is a small bird of 58 grams, m4erainly green in color, lighter on the throat, breast, undersides, and abdomen. The flights and tail feathers have a hint of blue. There is a blue tinge on the crown, lower back, rump, thighs, under the tail and flights. There is a bronze patch on the wing shoulder area. A distinct small orange patch can be clearly seen just under the lower mandible, giving this bird its other common name. The under-wing coverts are yellow. The iris is dark brown, the beak is horn-colored and the legs are a flesh-gray color. Both sexes look alike. There is one subspecies with a paler orange chin spot. Immature birds are similar to adults.

The orange chin inhabits parts of Mexico, Columbia and Venezuela. We have been fortunate to have some small shipments of orange chins imported to the U.S. some time ago. Years ago, they were being imported by the thousands, and most of these wild-caught birds were sold for pets. They could be easily tamed and made excellent house and family pets.

Golden-winged Parakeet

This stout 6 1/2-inch bird (B. chrysopterus chrysopterus) is a deep green, with a deeper shade on the back and wings. The crown has a bluish tinge with a brownish frontal band. The primary wing coverts are bright orange. A dull spot of orange-brown is on the chin. The iris is brown, and the beak is horn-colored. The feet are a pale yellowish-brown.

There are four subspecies, which all vary in color and/or size. An average weight is 65 grams. The four subspecies are B. c. chrysosema, B. c. solimoensis, B. c. tenuifrons, and B. c. tuipara.

White-winged Parakeet

This 9 1/2-inch white-winged parakeet (B. versicolorus versicolorus) is sometimes also referred to as the canary-winged parakeet or yellow-winged parakeet. This bird weighs about 65 grams and is mainly an olive green, with a tinge of blue surrounding the eyes, forehead, and upper parts of the cheeks. The outer primaries start off as blue-green with the remaining primaries white. The secondary coverts are yellow. Usually when the wings are held against the body, the white patch is not visible; only yellow can be seen. The legs are pinkish-gray, and the beak is horn-colored. The sexes are alike in appearance. Immature birds are similar to adults in color.

The true white-winged parakeet has bare facial areas (no feathering) around the beak and eyes, giving it an appearance of old age. Most of these birds available now have been hybridized with their close cousin (a subspecies) the canary wing; so, most birds available now have a well feathered facial area. Most also seem to be a bit more green as well because of the canary wing influence.

I find the white-winged parakeet's personality very similar to the grey cheek when it comes to hand-fed pets. Lately, I have seen many of these birds available in pet stores for moderate prices. They seem to be more available in large numbers in California and Florida. If one is interested in setting up any of these birds for breeding, now would be the time to get them before they disappear, and their prices soar.

Canary-winged Parakeets

This 9-inch, 60-gram bird (B. v. chiriri) is a subspecies of the white-winged parakeet, mentioned above. The reason I separated these two in description is because of distinguished differences in size, coloring and personality. Both are commonly called canary wings most of the time (and sometimes yellow wings). They are also wrongly referred to as bee bee parrots.

This species is slightly shorter than the white wing. It is brighter green, more like an apple green. The face of this bird is totally feathered--no bare facial areas as with the white wing. There is a slight blue tinge to the flights. A bright lemon-yellow patch highlights the greater wing coverts, giving this bird its common name. There is no white coloring on this species wing. These is one more slight larger subspecies that is less common in aviculture.

Grey-cheeked Parakeets

This 8-inch, 54-gram bird (B. pyrrhopterus) is also known as the orange-flanked parakeet, as well as the pocket parrot. Grey cheeks inhabit a small range in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It can be quickly distinguished from other Brotogeris by the bright orange-colored patch on the under-wing coverts. When the wings are being held against the body, only a small amount of orange can be seen peeking over the tops of its shoulders.

The main color is a bright green (paler on the underparts). The chin, forehead and sides of the face are pale gray, giving this bird its common name. The crown, primary coverts and primaries are bluish. The eyes are dark brown, feet and legs are pinkish, and the beak is horn-colored.

Both males and females are identical in color and size. Immature birds are very similar to the adults in appearance, with the very young having black coloring on the beak. This black sometimes remains for months until it fades to the adult horn color.

Tui Parakeet

The tui (B. sanctithomae sanctithomae) is a very attractive 7-inch birds that weighs about 58 grams. It is a bright green with a lighter yellowish-green on the chest, abdomen, under wings, lower back, and underside of the tail. The flights are bluish with a brighter blue on the primary coverts. There is a tinge of blue on the cheeks, nape and underside of the flights. A very bright yellow patch is on the forehead, making this species look like a tiny version of the yellow-crowned Amazon. The beak is a chestnut color. The iris is a glowing golden color, which is set off by the jet-black pupil.

Sexes are alike in color and size. Immature birds resemble adults except that their irises are dark in color. The subspecies (B. s. takatsukasae) has a yellow streak behind the eye.

Cobalt-winged Parakeets

This 7 1/2-inch bird (B. cyanoptera cyanoptera) is olive-green in color, with a darker shade on the back and wings. The forehead is a dull yellow just above the beak. The crown and nape have a blue tinge. The chin is marked with an orange spot. The primaries and primary coverts are bright cobalt blue, giving the birds its name. The upper mandible in horn-colored, darkening toward the tip. The eyes are dark brown, and the feet and legs are brownish-pink. Sexes look alike and weigh about 65 grams. Immature birds resemble the adults. There are two subspecies with some color variations.

I know many people who have these birds as pets, and they say they are excellent family birds and learn to talk. I love these birds. I have pairs set up that I hand-fed years ago, and I can still reach into the cage and pick them up without them attempting to bite me. They stay tame and sweet. They also make very good breeder pairs, usually producing clutches each year, whereas other species of Brotogeris may skip a year or two.

Plain Parakeet

This 9-inch bird (B. tirica) is mainly green, with a yellow tinge on the crown, cheeks and the underparts. There is blue on the flights and underside of the tail (with just a tinge on the hind neck and the mantle).

These birds are common in their native land, but there are only a few in the U.S. None were legally imported because of the strict exportation laws of Brazil, their country of origin. I have recently been told that the few plain parakeets in the U.S., government seized because they were illegally imported, have all died, except for possibly one bird. No pairs, to my knowledge, are available in the U.S.

The following combinations of Brotogeris have been produced in both captivity, as well as in the wild:

canary-winged parakeets with white-winged parakeets
grey-cheeked parakeets with orange-chinned parakeets
orange-chinned parakeets with cobalt-winged parakeets
grey-cheeked parakeets with canary-winged parakeets
grey-cheeked parakeets with white-winged parakeets

I am sure there are more combinations of the above, but those are the ones I have seen. It is best to put together only the same species when it comes to breeding Brotogeris.

Housing

Most any cage that is suitable for a cockatiel will do just fine for a pet Brotogeris. The cage bars should be close together. Too much space between the bars can lead to a pet getting its head stuck between them. Dowels that are 1/2- to 3/4-inch in diameter should be used for a grey cheek (too large or two small could cause foot problems). Natural branch perches are always welcomed for climbing and chewing by most grey cheeks or Brotogeris. If selecting your own branches off trees, be sure they are pesticide-free and nontoxic.

Brotogeris love to play on an open playpen with treats and safe toys at their disposal. All kinds of various safe toys can now be purchased in pet stores. Rotate different toys every few days, so your pet will not get bored with the same old toy. When out of their cages, these birds should be supervised; Brotogeris can be very mischievous and wander off, possibly doing damage to furnishings or even to themselves. Think of a pet Brotogeris as a child, and you should do just fine.

My readers would write in telling me all kinds of things about their Brotogeris. One lady wrote and told me her grey cheek, named Chicken Little, loved to play with wooden popsicle sticks. This bird is famous because some years back he did some professional modeling. Actress Isabella Rossellini did a shoot with Chicken Little for the publication Interview. But, since then, Chicken Little has retired and just prefers to live a pampered life (thanks to his owner).

Dietary Needs

A bird must receive a well-balanced diet to be healthy and strong. I offer all my birds a large variety of food in their diet. All my Brotogeris are offered the following dry seeds: parakeet mix, safflower seed, and medium-sized sunflower seed. If more convenient, a good cockatiel mix is suitable for Brotogeris.

I have found, when it comes to this family of birds consuming dry seed, that each bird is an individual as far as actually consuming the various seeds offered. For example, one grey cheek will eat only parakeet mix, another may prefer mostly sunflower seed and even another eats all types of dry seed. A diet of formulated pellets can also be offered.

Offer fruits and vegetables (washed thoroughly) for a well-balanced diet. When it comes to soft foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, all of my Brotogeris love them. I have found that almost all Brotogeris love apples. My birds received daily a bowl of various soft foods, consisting of sprouted seeds, apple, oranges, peaches, bananas, grapes, peas and corn (these can be fresh or frozen), grated carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, beets, spinach and other seasonal fruits and vegetables. A tip here: carrots, yams, and sweet potatoes are consumed with more relish by Brotogeris when they are quickly steamed or cooked, then cooled. It brings out the sweetness of these vegetables, and the birds seems to enjoy eating them better when lightly cooked.

I sprinkle a good avian vitamin and powdered calcium on fruits and veggies, especially for my breeding birds. Brotogeris also relish soaked (in water or fruit juice) primate biscuits. Just be sure the biscuits are fresh. They can become rancid and cause health problems for birds.

Birds, like people, need variation in their lives. Some Brotogeris even enjoy eating live meal worms as a special treat (a good source of protein), which can be purchased at local pet shops. Others like treats such as various bits of breakfast cereals or crackers. Most pet Brotogeris become part of the family and eat at the dining room table. This is fine as long as the "junk food" is kept to a minimum.

Here's a little story about one of my breeding pairs of grey cheeks that will show how unusual some of the personalities of these little characters can be! Each day, I would fill their flat glass bowl with the soft food mixture that I prepare daily for all my birds. This pair, like all the other pairs, would immediately devour their treats with delight. This pair went to nest, laying six fertile eggs and taking good care of their clutch. Upon inspection one morning, I found that three chicks had just hatched. The pair's bowl was filled as usual. The pair came over to the bowl and looked inside, and together instantly they flipped over the soft food tray, contents and all went flying out. I refilled it, and again it was turned over. This continued for days. I kept offering them the soft food mixture many times a day.

One day I scooped out some of the mixture of soft foods into their bowl, and a different outcome occurred. The pair ran over to the bowl chattering with excitement. They immediately started to pick out only the peas. That day, in that particular scoop of my soft food mixture, there were extra peas. This time they did not flip over their bowl. The next time I went out to feed them, I added extra peas on top of the soft foods. Again, the pair was excited, and the bowl remained right side up, I now knew that this particular pair wanted extra peas when they have chicks.

Breeding

It is hard to determine the sex of most Brotogeris by sight. In some cases, the males appear to have a slightly larger head and beak when closely compared to females, but this is not totally reliable when it comes to pairing birds up for breeding.

If you must know the sex of your bird, the most accurate way to determine it is by having your bird surgically sexed or DNA-sexed by a reliable vet. Keep in mind that surgical sexing is an operation. It can be a little more risky with the smaller types of birds, so please find an experienced vet to perform this procedure if surgical sexing is your choice in correctly determining the sex of your bird. Keep in mind that without knowing the correct sex for breeding, breeders could be wasting valuable time assuming they have a pair. Birds set up for breeding that are not of the opposite sex can become frustrated birds and begin to feather pick themselves.

(Note from site owner: The chest feather DNA test accurately determines the sex of the bird and is none-evasive. All you need to do is pluck 5 chest feathers from your bird and mail them to the lab you choose. (2010)

When setting up pairs of Brotogeris for breeding, each pair should have its own individual cage or aviary. Breeding pairs can become quite ill-tempered when getting ready to go to nest. A pair preparing to nest may kill any other birds (Brotogeris or other species) that are in the same enclosure with them at that time. I've had the tamest pairs of grey cheeks become terribly vicious toward me when they are thinking about going to nest. They lash out to attack me while I am trying to feed them or clean their cage.

If a pair of pets suddenly become a bit nippy, this is usually a sign that the pair is thinking about going to nest. It is natural for breeding pairs to become extremely vicious towards people during the breeding season. At this time, they become very territorial and protective of their home. A single pet bird can act very much the same way during breeding time; this aggressive behavior usually passes with just a bit of time and patience.

Grey cheeks or other Brotogeris do not have to be tame for breeding. Wild or tame birds will breed if ready to do so. It is alright to have other Brotogeris or other types of birds around in the same building or room. The main thing to remember is to put only one pair of birds in a breeding setup. However, I have heard of people who had some success with colony breeding canary-winged parakeets. I was successfully breeding two pairs of cobalt-winged parakeets in one enclosure, but after a year the birds starting fighting, and I feared that one might kill the other. The pairs were given their own cages. I feel that is the safest way to breed these birds--one pair per enclosure.

My pairs of Brotogeris use standard wooden parakeet nest boxes with a layer of pine shavings on the bottom. These birds are not known to build their own nests, but I have had pairs fill up their nest box with apple and orange peels, and other scraps found on the bottom of their cages, almost as if they were attempting to build a nest similar to a lovebird's. I have offered them branches with leaves, but they go untouched.

Most of my breeding pairs have a single clutch of eggs a year. There are some pairs that will double and even triple clutch in a year. Nesting is generally from February through July. Pairs may be housed outdoors, weather permitting.

There is no set number of eggs per clutch. It can be as few as one or up to seven. The incubation period for Brotogeris eggs is 25 to 26 days. I've had many fertile eggs not hatch for more than a month from the time the first egg was laid. Brotogeris seem to start incubating only when they are almost finished laying all the eggs in the clutch. The hen may stay in the box with her newly laid eggs, but many times she is only brooding the eggs, not sitting tightly until at least three or more eggs have been laid. Because of this waiting period of brooding eggs--not actually incubating them--incubation seems to be longer for this species. Start counting 24 days from the time the last egg is laid. I have heard of too many people breaking open eggs way too early to find live babies inside the eggs. So, be patient!

Usually, the hen does most of the incubation with the male standing guard just outside the box. Both parents tend to the chicks when they start to hatch. The chicks grow quite rapidly. At 12 days old, their eyes are open, and within two more days, dark quills can be seen developing under the skin. At about 4 weeks old, feathers start to "pop" through the quills, first in the tail and wings, soon followed by the rest of the body.

Chicks fledge at about 6 weeks old, with both parents continually feeding the chicks on the outside of the box until they are eating on their own. By the time they are 9 to 11 weeks old, they are weaned, eating mostly soft foods at first.

If you desire, domestically reared chicks can be closed banded. I use the same size leg band used for cockatiels. A closed band (no open seams in the band) can prove that the chick has been domestically reared and can also be used for identification (and age, if dated).

Once the chicks are eating on their own, they should be removed. Otherwise, they could disturb the adult pair, should the pair decide to return to nest. Chicks can be left with the parents until they fledge or can be removed for hand-feeding when young and still unfeathered.

The best age for removing the chicks for hand-rearing is at about 2 weeks old. Baby Brotogeris (unweaned) will bob their little heads up and down and make very loud "squeaking" noises. Once weaned, the loud squeaking stops. Hand-reared youngsters make excellent pets. I remove all my chicks for hand-rearing.

Medical Considerations

Some years back, there was some controversy as to problems occurring with some grey cheeks. At times, avian tuberculosis was found or suspected to be a problem with a few individual grey cheeks. Not all findings were lab tested; many were just assumed to be that problem. In all my years of owning and raising grey cheeks and other types of Brotogeris, I have never encountered avian T.B. in any of my birds. So, this finding is most likely presumed by some and is in no way any type of epidemic.

Here is my theory on this matter--again, this is only my opinion. In the 1980s, when thousands of grey cheeks were being imported, there were babies that were being hand-reared by natives as they sat in Peru awaiting transport. Now, keep in mind that these people were not hand-feeding the chicks with sterile eye droppers or syringes; they were feeding them by a method known as "blow-feeding."

Blow feeding is when food is chewed up by a person and "blown" into the hungry chick's mouth. Now, if there were people with medical problems, some of that close contact could pass disease to a young bird. Keep in mind, all chicks now available on the market are domestically hand-reared here in the States. I know of no person that would "blow feed" any type of parrot chick.

Another problem I am starting to hear about are problems arising from a poor diet. Some people insist on allowing their pets, because of them appearing to be so "humanized," to eat people food. The problem with this is not so much because it is people food, but because of the choice of foods allowed to be consumed, such as food high in fat and processed sugars. Brotogeris, like people, can suffer health consequences from eating such poor food choices.

Recently, a grey cheek owner had a feather problem with his very dear pet. They decided to run some tests and found that the pet had a cholesterol count of 600--normal is 160 to 180. The bird was put on a diet of better foods, and shortly after the cholesterol dropped to 325. High-fat diets of "people foods" can cause liver damage that sometimes cannot be corrected. This type of feeding can and will shorten a bird's life.

Common Brotogeris Accidents

For years, I've spoken to people about their pet grey cheeks and other types of Brotogeris. People have called and written about all types of accidents that occurred with their birds. I have heard of birds getting injured or killed by dogs or cats.

Other fatal accidents have been caused by pets in their cage left by window where the sun would shine in and give the bird a heat stroke; pets being accidentally stepped on; birds getting slammed by a door being closed; wandering pets chewing through an electrical cord; drowning in a toilet where the seat had been left up; a full-flighted pet landing on a hot stove, in a hot pot or in a kitchen sink full of hot water. I even have had people tell me how their pet ended up flying into an open freezer, and the door was shut not knowing the bird had flown in.

I must say the most common accident I hear of are people that sleep with their pets and roll over on them. Brotogeris like to crawl into a pocket or some tucked away small space. They may crawl underneath their owners to feel warm and secure. This is why this accident is just waiting to happen.

I once talked to a lady on the phone from midnight until 4 a.m. as she cried about the loss of her pet she loved so much. She told me she was a psychologist and was calling from the East Coast, (I'm on the West Coast). She could not sleep because she had just woken up to this terrible tragedy; she had fallen asleep on the couch and had rolled over on her pet. The bird was dead. She had my phone number and did not know who she could call, so she called me.

I had never spoken to her, and after that phone conversation, I never heard from her again. She did thank me for my time and comforting words. I hope I helped. This type of tragedy does happen so much; I hear about if often with all kinds of pet birds. Sleeping with your bird is not a good idea. I know how easy this is and can happen, for I was forever taking my daughter's bird out of her bed as she slept, but she has since broken this habit after hearing of all the accidents.

Most accidents can be prevented. Give some thought to ways your bird could be in possible danger and then correct the problems to help prevent accidents from happening; allow your bird a long, happy life. Brotogeris can be long-lived in captivity and have been known to reach their 30s. I received a letter from a man who told me his cobalt-winged parakeet had been in their family for 37 years. I own many types of Brotogeris around 20 years of age that are successfully producing young, are in good health and are looking great.

Brotogeris as Pets

2010-08-27T20:45:00.002-06:00

by Robbie Harris

Brotogeris are well known for their tameness and affection toward their owners, as well as their intelligence and pet quality. Over a half century ago, "bee bee" parrots filled the hearts of many bird pet lovers. These loving pets were actually the orange-chinned parakeets, also known as Tovi parakeets. Pet shops always had an abundance of these birds that were quickly snatched up by bird lovers because of their ability to be quickly tamed, resulting in wonderful, family pets.

Many other Brotogeris were attached with the common name bee bee, like the canary-winged and white-winged parakeets. Even cobalt-winged parakeets were once release out of a quarantine station simply labeled bee bee parrots.

Grey-cheeked parakeets, on the other hand, quickly earned the name "pocket parrot" because they loved to climb down inside their owners' shirt pockets and stay there, just poking their heads out, watch the outside world. All the time, I hear from people about how their pets ride all over with them in pockets. I even heard of someone who walked into a pet store and a grey-cheeked parakeet jumped onto her shoulder and quickly found her shirt pocket and climbed in. Needless to say, she bought the bird!

Brotogeris parakeets make excellent pets if domestically raised and hand-fed. They are all available in the United States, except for the plain parakeet. Recently, a few plain parakeets had been smuggled into the States and were confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Since then, these birds have died. So, to my knowledge, none are in the U.S.

Tui parakeets are very rare, and not available as pets, as of yet; but, cobalt-winged parakeets are available at times on the pet market. I have many pairs of domestically raised cobalt wings that are up for breeding. These little birds are truly amazing. No matter how old they are, or when the last time was that they were handled, they remain tame and sweet and do not bite. I can reach in and take out either the male or the female, and they are tame. even pairs that are more than 8 years old. Like many grey cheeks, these birds are very loving and once hand-fed will remain tame, even during breeding season. They make wonderful pets, and many learn to talk. They are also very reliable breeding pairs, unlike their cousin the grey cheek. All my pairs of cobalt wings will each have at least one clutch of babies in the spring, where grey cheeks can skip a year or more at will.

Canary wings had been imported in large numbers in the past, usually as wild-caught, untamed adults. With some work and patience, many were tamed into very nice pets. Today, no more of these birds are being imported; therefor their availability has dwindled, and their price has soared. Any hand-reared canary wing chick is a joy to own as a pet and will also turn out to be a good breeder bird.

There are many people who own, breed or just love some type of Brotogeris. With many people so enthusiastic and geared exclusively toward the Brotogeris family, I have high hopes that these wonderful birds will not disappear completely here in the U.S. However, as the years progress, I have found it much harder to locate certain species. I seem to be the only person in the U.S. who is working with Tui parakeets. Some years back, Tuis were imported to the U.S. and were sold to pet stores. I tried to purchase many of these birds, but people would not give up their pets. Since then, most of those pets have died out, but I did manage to get some to work with. Success for me has been good, but, because these birds are a bit tricky to work with, and unpredictable, progress is slower than I'd like. With my babies, I have found that the hand-raised males later become very bold and will attack me once paired with a hen if I put my hand in their cage. On the other hand, female Tuis stay sweet and tame, showing no real aggression. A single Tui would mostly make a cute, tame pet, resembling a miniature of a yellowheaded Amazon parrot. But, for now they must all go into breeding programs.

Grey cheeks are loved by many people. It seems that once someone has owned a grey cheek, it continues to be the "bird of choice." The grey-cheeked parakeet is, without a doubt, a very unusual species. Tame, hand-reared chicks make wonderful companions to their human owners. They are so intelligent that one must stop and wonder if there is a little person inside. As for a pet, either sex is equal in talking, companionship, entertaining, and affection. Two males or two females can become great buddies as cage companions. A grey cheek and another type of Brotogeris become very territorial and protective of their cage. A single pet can at times act very much the same way during breeding season. This aggressive behavior usually passes with just a bit of time and patience. Cobalt wings and single whit wings do not seems to go through these aggression problems--at least not mine or the ones I know.

Grey cheeks are quite bold, even though they are only a compact parrot of 8 inches, and quite a bit of that is tail. One will challenge a parrot two and three times its own size.

Many learn to talk quite clearly and can be taught tricks. The female bird that I had inherited learned to clearly speak more than 30 words. The grey-cheeked parakeet, as well as most any Brotogeris, can make an excellent family or single person pet.

Being very intelligent and playful, these birds can become bored when just left in their cage, and start the nasty habit of feather plucking. To keep them occupied, offer them safe toys and bird treats, such as chew sticks or a cracked-open walnut. Chewable toys can help keep their beaks in proper shape. Some individuals tend to develop misshapen or overgrown beaks. If so, an avian vet or a specialized bird shop can easily trim the beak when needed. Always make sure they are supplied with a water bowl large enough that they can bathe at will.

A single bird kept as a pet is usually not too noisy. Do not teach your bird to become a screamer. Many people, without realizing it, teach their birds that when they scream it brings them attention. Never reward your bird in any way if it is screaming. Do not take the bird out because it is noisy, or offer it a treat just to quiet it down, because getting some sort of response is a reward.

Most people are unaware of the fact that grey cheeks are not naturally tame. Many people hear the word grey cheek and instantly thin of a sweet, tame little bird. Not all grey cheeks are sweet, tame little things. I've seen the sweetest babies in quarantine stations that have just been imported from Peru. But I have also seen wild-caught imported grey cheeks that upon their release were just as nippy and feisty as a wild lovebird, some being almost untameable. If a grey cheek is wanted for a pet, not for breeding, be sure that the bird is already tame. Hand-fed Brotogeris are very trusting and loving toward humans, and most stay that way with lots of love and affection from their owners.

Any two different types of Brotogeris can become great friends. Be careful that they are slowly introduced. Each should have its own cage until you are positive they both really like one another. Many people have a grey cheek and a canary wing living together as tame pets, with the two birds being friends. This can cut way down on the demanded time they may require from you. If by chance your "buddies" end up being the opposite sex, there is a chance that breeding can take place.

I have seen various hybrid Brotogeris around, but not too many. Mostly canary wing and white wing hybrids are commonly found, but I have seen a grey cheek/white wing hybrid. If you want your pet to breed, then try to keep the same species of Brotogeris together. Brotogeris can hybridize among each other, if given the opportunity. I would not recommend these breedings because we all need pure birds to keep each species surviving in captivity.

Keeping Them as Pets

Keeping a Brotogeris as a pet is quite easy. Lots of love and attention is needed. Give it a nice, roomy cage with bar spacing close together so no mishap will happen, such as a head getting stuck between the barring. A cage for a cockatiel, with close bar spacing, will do quite nicely.

Dowels that are a 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter should be used for a Brotogeris (too large or too small could cause foot problems). Natural branch perches are always welcomed for climbing and chewing.

Playpens on top of the cage can bring hours of outside enjoyment. These birds love to play on an open playpen with treats and safe toys handy. All kinds of safe toys can now be purchased in pet stores. It may be a good ideas to rotate different toys every few days, so your pet will not get bored. Bored Brotogeris can become feather pluckers, and once this habit gets started, it is very hard to break.

Supervise your Brotogeris when it is out of its cage because it can be very mischievous and wander off, possibly doing damage to some furnishings or even to itself. Think of a pet Brotogeris as a child, and you should do just fine.

Diet

Diet is simple too. Various seeds for a small parrot start the Brotogeris diet. I have found that when it comes to this family of birds consuming dry seeds that each bird is an individual. For instance, one bird will eat only parakeet mix, another may prefer mostly sunflower seed, and another will eat all types of dry seed. Bird pellets can be offered as treats.

I like offering all of my birds a large variety. The birds do very well, and I have almost no problems with boredom. I feels birds, like people, need variation.! Some Brotogeris even enjoy eating live meal worms as a special treat (a good source of protein), which can be purchased at local pet shops. Others like treats such as bits of breakfast cereals or crackers.

Lots of fresh or frozen (thawed), fruits and vegetables should be offered daily, well washed. This is a very important part of their diet. They will eat mostly fruits and veggies that they like over most anything else. One can lightly dust damp foods with an avian vitamin to help provide anything that may be lacking.

Many Brotogeris will eat most anything offered to them. Foods that are not good for them will be eaten too. Keep your bird away from fatty foods and anything else that will not help maintain it in good shape. Poor nutrition is very hard on these birds, and they will not be long lived on a poor diet containing junk foods. On a proper diet, these birds can be long lived.

I talked to a man who has owned his pet cobalt-winged parakeet for 37 years. My son's pet white wing is about 12 years old now and going strong. A friend of mine owns Bird Jungle, a bird store in Scarsdale, New York. He says he has customers who are still bringing in their pet grey cheeks for periodical grooming. These birds were purchased from him when he first got the store more than 15 years ago. I own many Brotogeris that are about 20 years old and are still breeding, producing young and looking great.

Juvenile Brotogeris

Very young grey cheeks are easily distinguishable from adults as the upper beak is blackish in color. The younger the bird, the blacker the beak. Usually by the time the young bird is about 6 months old, the beak is the same color as the adults. Once the beak changes color, it is difficult to determine the age of the bird.

My young feathered grey-cheeked parakeet chicks are usually just as colorful as the adults. When it comes to purchasing a grey cheek or any Brotogeris for a pet it is best to start off with a young, tame bird. Tame Brotogeris act like a large parrot in compact form.

Avoiding Accidents

For years, people have called and written about all types of accidents that occurred with their birds. I have heard of birds getting injured or killed by dogs or cats. Other fatal accidents have happened because pets are left by a window in their cage, where later in the day the sun would shine in and give the bird a heat stroke; or pets are stepped on by someone not knowing the bird was walking in its path; or birds are getting injured by a door being closed. More examples include wandering pets chewing through an electrical cord, drowning in a toilet where the seat had been left up, a full-flighted pet landing on a hot stove or hot pot or ending up in a kitchen sink full of water. I even have had people tell me how their pet ended up flying into an open freezer and the door was then shut.

But the most common accidents I hear of or get calls about are people who sleep with their pets, and accidentally roll over on their birds. Brotogeris like to crawl into pockets or tucked away in small spaces. If you are sleeping, your bird may crawl underneath you to feel warm and secure. I once talked to a lady on the phone from midnight until 4 a.m. as she cried about the loss of her pet she loved so much. She told me she was a psychologist and calling from back East, (I'm on the West Coast). She could not sleep because she had just woke up to this terrible tragedy; she had fallen asleep on the couch, and had rolled over in her sleep on her pet. Needles to say, the bird was dead. Sleeping with your bird is not a good idea. I know how easily this can happen; I was forever taking my daughter's bird out of her bed as she slept, but she has since broken this habit. Most, if not almost all, accidents can be prevented. By giving thought to ways your bird could be in possible danger, and then correcting the problem, could help greatly in preventing accidents from happening and allowing your bird a long, happy life.

Pet Brotogeris

Many people write or call to tell me all kinds of things about their pet Brotogeris. One lady wrote and told me that her grey cheek named Chicken Little loves wooden Popsicle sticks to play with, but prefers some Popsicle left on the stick so first he can enjoy a bit of dessert and then destroy his toy. This bird is famous, because some years back, he did some professional modeling. Actress Isabella Rossellini did a photo shoot with Chicken Little for the publication Interview. Since then, Chicken Little has retired.

I know of a girl who treats her grey cheek as a family member. Late one night, there was fire in her apartment building. All turned out okay, but her bird was very upset by the commotion. So at 2 a.m., she ordered a pizza for her grey cheek to help settle the bird down (it was the bird's favorite food).

Here's a little story about one of my breeding pairs of grey cheeks, which will illustrate how unusual some of the personalities can be in these little characters. I had a "normal" pair of grey cheeks, so I thought. Each day, I would fill their flat glass bowl with the soft food mixture that I prepare for all my birds daily. This pair, like all the other pairs, would immediately start to devour their treats with such delight, soon the bowl would be empty. This pair went to nest, laying six fertile eggs, taking very good care of their clutch.

Upon inspection one morning, I found that three chicks had just hatched. The pair's bowl was filled, as usual. The pair came over to the bowl, looked inside, and together, instantly, they flipped over the soft-food mixture dish, food flying everywhere. I refilled it, and again it was turned over. This continued for days. I kept offering them the soft-food mixture many times a day. One day, I scooped out some of the mixture of soft food into their bowl, and a different outcome occurred. The pair ran over to the bowl, chattering with excitement. They immediately started to pick out the peas only. That day in that particular scoop of my soft-food mixture there were extra peas. This time, they did not flip over their bowl. The next time, I went out to feed them, I added extra peas on top of the soft foods. Again, the pair was excited, and the bowl remained right-side up. I soon figured out that when this particular pair has chicks in the nest, they demand extra peas, and if not given their way, the soft food goes flying. Once the chicks are removed for hand-rearing, this pair acts "normal" again, content with my usually mixture of soft foods.

A woman bought a baby grey cheek from me, and she wanted to finish the last of the hand-feeding. She wanted the two of them to form a close bond, which they did. The little grey cheek was named Squeeky because of the squeaky begging noises she made as a young chick. I'd had this baby surgically sexed, so we knew the baby was a female. Squeeky learned to say many words and phrases quite clearly. She also learned to associate the phrases with her surroundings. Squeeky would climb to the top of her cage and hang by one toe from the roof of her cage. When she would fall down, she would climb back up to her perch and say, "Squeeky, are you okay?" Also when Squeeky is creating havoc, she says, "I'm a good girl." She will also ask for a treat. Squeeky is now 10 years old, and she is still talking up a storm.

Article originally appeared in the May 1997 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author and Bird Talk magazine.

The Grey Cheek and Its Cousins

2010-08-27T20:30:00.002-06:00

by Robbie Harris

The Grey-cheeked parakeet, Brotogeris pyrrhopterus, has earned a reputation as one of the finest pet birds one can own, largely because it is a very affectionate, intelligent bird. Although it is only 8 inches long, it has a bold personality and is not intimidated by parrots twice its size. Many grey cheeks learn to talk quite plainly and perform tricks, adding to their appeal as outstanding pets. Given the run of the house (supervised, of course), they are inquisitive, exploratory and social, greeting visitors and inspecting their owners' plates at mealtime.

Thousands of Brotogeris (grey cheeks and their lesser known cousins) are imported every year. The grey cheeks have captured the hearts of U.S. pet owners because they are almost always chicks that were hand-reared in Ecuador and Peru. Other Brotogeris, such as canary wings, orange chins, cobalt wings, golden wings, Tui, and plain parakeets, come from southern Mexico, Central, and South America. Although they are usually imported as wild-caught adult birds, they can be tamed with time and patience. I believe all of the Brotogeris make good pets, but the best of all are the hand-reared chicks raised by breeders in this country.

Brotogeris parakeets range in length from 7 to 10 inches. In some ways, they are similar to lovebirds, but they have wedge-shaped tails, a more slender build and long, pointed wings that enable them to fly swiftly. All Brotogeris are primarily green, but the various subspecies are distinguished by small spots of color on their foreheads, chins, flight feathers or underwing coverts. Their beaks are long and slender sometimes giving them a sad-faced, or at least, a serious expression. Small, naked eye rings, not as prominent as those on most conures, given them a bright-eyed look. You cannot distinguish sex or age by appearance; adult males, females and youngsters of both sexes all look very much alike.

Some of the Brotogeris are abundant in their native lands and have been imported through the U.S. quarantine system for several years. In the past, the most commonly imported were the orange chinned parakeets, also called Bee Bee parrots. They earned an early reputation as good pets too.

The care and breeding of all varieties of these parakeets is the same, and in general, they all have sweet, gentle dispositions. Sometimes their chattering voices can be annoying, but a single bird kept as a pet is usually not too noisy. Grey cheeks seem to be the most aggressive of the genus; cobalt wings and canary wings tend to be shyer.

Although all members of the species have much in common, each deserves a separate description.

Grey-cheeked Parakeet

This 8-inch bird is also known as the orange-flanked parakeet, as well as the pocket parrot. Primarily bright green with paler underparts, it is named for its gray chin, forehead and sides of head. It is the only Brotogeris with a bright orange patch on its underwing coverts, which can be seen as just a touch of orange on the shoulder tips when the wings are held against the bird's body. Brown eyes and bluish feathers on the crown and primaries complete the array of colors on this bird. It commonly weighs about 54 grams.

Canary-winged Parakeet

The Brotogeris veriscolorus chiriri is a 9-inch, bright green bird with a slight blue tinge to its flight feathers. Its greater wing coverts have a vivid lemon yellow patch on them, striking when the bird stretches its wings, and brilliant in flight.

White-winged Parakeet

The Brotogeris versicolorus versicolorus resembles the canary wing in many ways; it is just 1/2 inch longer and weighs 65 grams. Mainly an olive green, it has a tinge of blue surrounding its eyes, forehead and upper parts of the cheeks. Outer primaries are blue-green, but the remaining primary feathers are white, with the secondary coverts yellow. When the wings are closed against the body, the white feathers are not visible, and people may refer to this bird as a canary wing.

Orange-chinned Parakeet

This 7-inch bird, Brotogeris jugularis, is also known as the Tovi parakeet or the Bee Bee parrot. Usually about 58 grams in weight, it is basically green with lighter shades of green on its underside. It is named for the bright orange spot under its lower mandible; other touches of color are yellow underwing coverts and a blue tinge to the crown, lower back, rump, thighs and under the tail and flight feathers.

Cobalt-winged Parakeet

The Brotogeris cyanoptera cyanoptera is a darker, more olive green than its cousins. It, too, has an orange spot on its chin, but its bright cobalt blue primary and primary covert feathers make its wings distinctive from those of the orange-chinned parakeet. Its forehead is dull yellow just above the beak, and the crown and nape have a blue tint to them. At 65 grams and 7 1/2 inches in length, it is slightly larger than the orange-chinned variety.

Golden-winged Parakeet

The distinctive markings on this mostly green bird are bright orange primary wing coverts and a brownish frontal band just below its blue crown. The Brotogeris chrysopterus chrysopterus is the shortest Brotogeris, at 6 1/2 inches, and the stoutest.

Tui Parakeet

The Brotogeris sanctithomae sanctithomae looks like a tiny, 7-inch version of the yellow-crowned Amazon with its bright yellow forehead, which contrasts with its otherwise green body. Its glowing, golden irises surrounding the jet black pupils makes its eyes distinctive, too. Like other members of the species, it has shades of blue here and there on its body--on the flight feathers, cheeks and nape, with bright blue on the primary coverts.

Plain Parakeet

As its name implies, Brotogeris tirica is hardly distinctive. One of the largest of the group, at 9 inches, it is mainly green, with yellowish feathers on its crown, cheeks and underparts. It, too, has blue on its flight feathers, and more blue under its tail, with just a tint of blue on the hindneck and mantle. These birds, common in their native land, are rarely seen or kept in captivity in the U.S. because of the strict exportation laws of Brazil, their country of origin.

Care and Feeding

Grey cheeks and their cousins are the best of both worlds--small in size but big in personality and ability. Giving them good care is pure joy because they are so responsive and appreciative.

House them as you would a cockatiel, in medium-sized cages, but be sure to give them periods of freedom and playpens for practicing their acrobatics. Be sure, too, they always have a water bowl large enough to bath in. They love their baths, especially in the morning.

Feed Brotogeris a cockatiel seed mix containing sunflower seed, safflower seed and parakeet mix. Many of them will want to pick out just the sunflower seeds, but my grey cheeks ignore the sunflower and eagerly eat the parakeet mix. Seed mix, however, should never be their sole source of nutrition. They should always be offered fruits and vegetables. Apples seem to be their favorite fresh food, but they will also eat pieces of cut up oranges, carrots, beets, spinach, plums, pears, bananas, peaches, squash, wheat bread and peas (thawed frozen peas or still in the pod), corn on the cob or thawed kernels, grapes, cherries, dry dog or cat kibble and monkey chow soaked in water. Many Brotogeris also love a small bowl of fresh sprouted seeds daily.

Since all members of this family are intelligent and playful, they will need toys to keep them from becoming bored and perhaps plucking their own feathers. Bird treats, chew sticks and partially cracked walnuts are additional items that will entertain these birds.

When people realize what these birds need and how much variety of diet enjoy, it's great fun to indulge them.

Breeding

If you want to breed grey cheeks or other Brotogeris, have them surgically sexed to be sure of their genders. Sometimes hens seem to be slightly more petite in the head and face than males, but you cannot be sure until a veterinarian has actually performed this safe, surgical procedure.

Brotogeris can be bred in colonies, but I have found that they quarrel too much in large groups. Thus, I prefer to set up a single pair per cage or flight. The bold personality that is charming in a pet grey cheek can become extremely aggressive, even nasty, during the month or two before they go to nest. Consistent with the shyer nature of the cobalt wings, canary wings and orange chins, although their increased aggression shows in defending the nest box and scolding, they do not become as ornery as the grey cheeks.

When a pair is ready to nest, they will use almost any wooden nest box offered to them. I have had the most success with standard budgie nest boxes filled several inches deep with pine shavings. Clutch size ranges between two and seven eggs, and the hen will incubate them for about 26 days. Chicks can be left with the parents until they fledge or can be removed to be hand fed. The best time for taking chicks for hand rearing is at about 2 weeks of age. Most Brotogeris are conscientious parents so the main reason for hand-feeding the chicks is to assure that they grow up to be tame, people-oriented pets. Although there are exceptions, seldom does removing the chicks inspire the parents to produce a second clutch.

When they can no longer be imported, the price of grey cheeks and other Brotogeris will soar because of their popularity. Many of these birds, which were inexpensive and easy to obtain just a few short years ago, are now difficult to find. Brotogeris make marvelous pets, but they should also be bred to assure an ample future supply of these birds when they can no longer be exported from their native lands.

Article originally appeared in the April 1985 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author and Bird Talk magazine.

The Grey-Cheeked Parakeet and Its Family

2010-08-27T19:00:00.012-06:00

by Robbie Harris

Brotogeris is the Latin name for a small group of birds in the parrot family, including the grey-cheeked parakeet, the canary-winged parakeet, the white-winged parakeet, the orange-chinned parakeet, the cobalt-winged parakeet, the golden-winged parakeet, the Tui parakeet and the plain parakeet. The member of the Brotogeris family are distributed from southern Mexico down through central South America.

These small, solidly-built birds range anywhere from 7 to 9 inches long and are somewhat similar to lovebirds in size, but with more of a slender build. Brotogeris have wedge-shaped tails that vary in length. The wings are long and pointed, which enables them to be very swift flyers. These birds are mainly green in color with many having other colors on the forehead, chin, primaries and underwing coverts. The beak is similar to an Amazon's in shape, with the upper mandible deeply notched in a hook-like fashion. They also have small eye rings similar to conures. Both sexes look alike, and young birds closely resemble the adults.

When deciding on which Brotogeris to choose, keep in mind that some are easier to find than others. Also remember that each will be a good pet if hand-fed and taken care of properly.

Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris pyrrhopterus)

Grey cheeks are also known as orange-flanked parakeets, orange-winged parakeets, and pocket parrots. They can be quickly distinguished from other Brotogeris by the bright orange-colored patches on the underwing coverts. When the wings are held against the body, only a small bit of the orange can be seen peeking over the tops of the grey cheek's shoulders. The main color is a bright green, but paler on underparts. The chin, forehead and sides of the face are pale gray, giving this bird its common name. The crown, primary coverts and primaries are bluish. The eyes are dark brown, feet and legs pinkish, and the beak is horn-colored.

Males and females are identical in color and size. Immature birds are very similar to the adults in appearance, with the very young having black coloring on the beak. This black sometimes remains for months, until it fades to the adult horn color. Grey cheeks inhabit a small range in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru.

White-winged Parakeet (B. vericolorus vericolurus)

The white wing is sometimes referred to as the canary-winged parakeet or the yellow-winged parakeet. It is mainly an olive green, with a tinge of blue surrounding the eyes, forehead and upper parts of the cheeks. The outer primaries start off being blue-green with the remaining primaries white. The secondary coverts are yellow. When the wings are folded closed and held against the bird's body, the white patch is not visible, and only yellow can be seen.

This species of bird has bare facial areas around the beak and eyes, giving it the appearance of old age. The legs are pinkish-gray, and the beak is horn-colored. The sexes are alike in appearance. I find the personality of hand-fed white wings very similar to grey cheeks. Lately, I have seen many of these birds in pet shops for moderate prices. They seem to be more readily available in California and Florida, and if breeders are interested in setting up any of these birds for breeding, do it now, before the birds disappear, and the prices increase.

Canary-winged Parakeet (B. versicolorus chiriri)

The canary wing is actually a subspecies of the white-winged parakeet. The reason I separated them into two different descriptions is because of their distinguishable differences in size, coloring and personality. Both are commonly called canary-winged parakeets, as well as yellow-winged parakeets. They are also incorrectly referred to as Bee Bee parrots. This bird is slightly shorter than the white wing. It is a brighter apple-green in color. The face of this bird is totally feathered. There is a slight blue tinge to the thighs. A bright lemon-yellow patch is formed by the yellow coloring on the greater wing coverts, giving this bird its common name. There is no white coloring on this bird's wing.

Orange-chinned Parakeet (B. jugularis)

The orange-chinned parakeet is also known as the Tovi parakeet or the Bee Bee parrot. They are small birds, mainly green in color, with lighter shades on the throat, breast, undersides, and abdomen. The flight and tail feathers have a hint of blue. There is a blue tinge on the crown, lower back, rump, thighs, under the tail and flights. There is a bronze patch on the wing shoulder area. A distinct small orange patch can be seen just under the lower mandible, giving this bird its other common name. The underwing coverts are yellow, the iris dark brown, the beak horn-colored, and the legs a flesh-gray color. Both sexes look alike. The orange chins inhabit parts of Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. We were fortunate enough to receive a few small shipments of orange chins some time ago. They were easily tamed and made excellent pets.

Cobalt-winged Parakeet (B. cyanoptera cyanoptera)

The cobalt wing is olive-green in color, with darker shades on the back and wings. The forehead has dull yellow just above the beak. The crown and nape have a blue tinge. The chin is marked with an orange spot. The primaries and primary coverts are bright cobalt blue, giving the bird its name. The upper mandible is horn colored and darkens toward the tip. The eyes are dark brown. The feet and legs are brownish-pink. Sexes look alike, and immature birds resemble the adults. There are two subspecies with some color variations. I know of many people who own these birds as pets, and say they are excellent family birds with good talking ability.

Golden-winged Parakeet (B. chrysopterus chrysopterus)

The stout golden wing is deep green with an even deeper shade on the back and wings. The crown has a bluish tinge with a brownish frontal band. The primary wing coverts are bright orange. A dull spot of orange-brown coloring is on the chin. This iris is brown, and the beak is horn. The feet are a pale yellowish-brown. There are four subspecies all varying in color and/or size.

Tui Parakeet (B. sanctithomae sanctithomae)

Tuis are very attractive birds. They are bright green with lighter yellowish-green on the chest, abdomen, underwings, lower back and underside of the tail. The flights are bluish, being a brighter blue on the primary coverts. There is a tinge of blue on the cheeks, nape and underside of the flights. A very bright yellow patch on the forehead makes this species look like a tiny version of the yellow-crowned Amazon. The beak is a chestnut color. The iris is a glowing golden color that is set off by the jet-black pupil. Sexes resemble each other in color and size. There is one subspecies that has a yellow streak behind the eye.

Plain Parakeet (B. tirica)

Plain parakeets are mainly green with yellow tinges on the crown, cheeks and the underparts. There is blue on the flight feathers and underside of the tail (with just a tinge on the hind neck and mantle), giving the name of plain because of the lack of a variety of colors. These birds are very common in their native Brazil, but because of strict Brazilian exportation laws, only a few reside in the United States.

The grey cheek is the best known of the Brotogeris and has captured the hearts of millions of bird fanciers.

When grey cheeks were first introduced into the United States back in the late 1970s, they were very inexpensive, selling for $25 to $35. Thousands were imported, and almost all of them were tame and sweet.

At the time, a good friend of mine purchased 150 newly imported grey cheeks. This was the first time he had seen grey cheeks for sale, and as he reached into the cage at the quarantine station, several of them rushed toward him. At first, he thought they were coming to attack, but instead they were pushing toward him for affection. All of these birds had been hand-fed in quarantine. They covered his arm like a swarm of bees, each one vying for his attention. It was very difficult to pick the ones he wanted--thousands were so tame and sweet! Within five days, he sold every one of those virtually unknown little parrots, and his customers, including me, were begging for more.

Needless to say, within days, the quarantine station quickly sold out of all the grey-cheeked parakeets in stock. As the years went on, thousands more entered the United States. Unfortunately, very few, considering the numbers, ended up as breeders. This shortage will only continue unless more people set them up for breeding soon. This pas year, I raised several, but many more people looking for these sweet birds were left wanting.

Most people believe that grey cheeks are naturally tame. Let me clarify something now--not all grey cheeks are sweet tame little birds! I've seen the sweetest babies in quarantine stations just imported from Peru, but I've also seen wild-caught imported grey cheeks that were just as nippy and feisty as wild lovebirds. The tame, sweet grey cheeks are birds that were hand-reared.

Young grey cheeks are easily distinguishable from adults because the upper beak is blackish in color. The younger the bird, the blacker the beak. By the time a bird is 6 months old, the beak is usually the same color as that of an adult. Once the beak changes color, it is difficult to determine the age of the bird. My young feathered grey-cheeked parakeet chicks usually are just as colorful as the adults.

Housing a Brotogeris

Tame Brotogeris act like compact versions of the larger parrots. They are extremely intelligent birds. Most any cage suitable for a cockatiel will do just fine for a pet Brotogeris. It is best if the cage bars are close together, so your pet won't get its head stuck between the bars. Use dowels that are 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter. Natural branch perches are always welcome for climbing and chewing.

These birds love to play on open playpens with treats and safe toys at their disposal. It may be a good idea to rotate different toys every few days so that your pet will not become bored with the same old toy. Supervise your Brotogeris when it's out of its cage, because these birds can be very mischievous and wander off, possibly damaging furniture or hurting themselves. Think of a pet Brotogeris as a child, and you should do just fine.

Diet/Nutrition

It is important that birds receive a well-balanced diet to stay healthy and strong. All my Brotogeris are offered the following dry seeds: parakeet mix, safflower seed, and medium sunflower seed. If convenience is important, purchase a good cockatiel mix at a pet shop. I've found that when it comes to Brotogeris consuming dry seeds, each bird is an individual. For instance, on grey cheek I know will eat only parakeet mix, while another prefers mostly sunflower seeds, and another eats all types of dry seed.

It is also very important that fruits and vegetables--thoroughly washed--are offered. When it comes to soft foods, all of my Brotogeris love them. My birds receive a bowl of various soft foods, including sprouted seeds, apples, oranges, peaches, bananas, grapes, peas and corn (either fresh or frozen), grated carrots, yams, sweet potatoes and beets, spinach, and other fruits and vegetables in season at the time. I sprinkle a good avian vitamin supplement and powdered calcium on their fruits and veggies, especially for my breeding birds. Brotogeris young and old also relish monkey biscuits which have been soaked in water or fruit juice. Sometimes bird pellets can be offered to Brotogeris with their seed diet. Some will eat it, but others will not.

I like to offer all my birds a large variety in their diets. The birds do well, and I have almost no problems with boredom. Some Brotogeris even enjoy eating live meal worms as a special treat which is also a good source of protein. Others like treats such as various bits of breakfast cereals or crackers. Most pet Brotogeris become part of the family and eat at the dining room table. This is fine as long as the junk food is kept to a minimum.

Breeding

A pair of grey-cheeked parakeets will breed in an aviary or a cage. It is very difficult to determine the sex of most Brotogeris by sight because these birds are not sexually dimorphic. In some cases, the males appear to have slightly larger heads and beaks compared to females, but this is not totally reliable. The most accurate way to determine a pair is by having the birds surgically or DNA sexed. Keep in mind that surgical sexing is an operation, and it can be a little more risky with the smaller birds.

While setting up pairs of Brotogeris for breeding, it is best for each pair to be in its own cage or aviary. Breeding pairs can become quite ill-tempered when getting ready to go to nest, and they may kill any other birds that are in the same enclosure with them at that time.

I once heard about a breeder who had two pairs of grey cheeks set up in a large aviary. The pairs got along very well. One pair went to nest and hatched out chicks and tended to them, but when the chicks were a couple of weeks old, the other pair went into the next box and killed them. I've had the tamest pair of grey cheeks become terribly vicious toward me when they are thinking about going to nest.

I have heard of people who have had some success in colony breeding canary-winged parakeets. I was successfully breeding two pairs of cobalt-winged parakeets in one enclosure, but after a year the birds starting fighting, and I feared that one might kill the other, so the pairs were given their own cages. I believe that it is just the safest way to breed these birds.

My pairs of Brotogeris use standard wooden parakeet nest boxes with a layer of pine shavings on the bottom. These birds are not known for building their own nests, but I have occasionally seen pairs fill up their nest box with apple and orange peels and other scraps fond on the bottoms of their cages, almost as if they were attempting to build a next similar to a lovebird's. I have offered them branches with leaves, but they go untouched. Most of my breeding pairs have a single clutch of eggs a year.

Some pairs will double and even triple clutch in a year. I do have a pair that raises three clutches a year averaging four chicks per clutch, nesting from February through July. This pair is housed outdoors in a sheltered building. There is no set number of eggs per clutch.

I also had one hen that laid an egg every other day for about six weeks, but this is not normal; she just didn't know when to stop. A clutch can be as small as two eggs and as large as eight, but my normal clutch size seems to average four to six eggs. The incubation period for Brotogeris eggs is 25 to 26 days. I've had many fertile eggs not hatch for more than a month from the time the first egg was laid, because these birds seem to start incubating only when they are almost finished laying all the eggs in the clutch. The hen may stay in the box with her newly laid eggs, but many times she is only brooding the eggs, not sitting tightly until at least three or more eggs have been laid. Because of this waiting period, incubation appears to be long for this species. Just to be safe, start counting 24 days from the time the last egg was laid. I have heard of too many people breaking eggs open way too early to find live babies inside the eggs.

Usually the hen does most of the incubation with the male standing guard just outside the box. Both parents tend the chicks when they start to hatch.

Once hatched, the chicks grow quite rapidly. At 12 days old, their eyes are open, and with another two days, dark quills can be seen developing under the skin. At about 4 weeks old, feathers start to pop through the quills, first in the tail and wings, soon followed by the rest of the body. Chicks fledge at about 6 weeks old, with both parents continually feeding the chicks on the outside of the box until they are eating on their own. By the time they are 9 to 11 weeks old, the chicks are usually weaned, eating mostly soft foods at first.

Once the chicks are eating on their own, they should be removed, otherwise they could disturb the adult breeding pair, should the pair decide to return to nest. Chicks can be left with the parents until they fledge, or they can be removed for hand-feeding when young and still unfeathered. The best age for removing the chicks for hand rearing is at about 2 to 3 weeks old. Unweaned baby Brotogeris will bob their little heads up and down, and make very loud "squeaking" noises. Though, once weaned, the loud squeaking stops.

If you desire, domestically reared chicks can be closed banded at a few weeks of age. I use cockatiel bands. A closed ban can prove that the check was domestically reared and can also be used for identification or age if dated.

I've found the Brotogeris to be very hardy birds as pets and as breeders. All my breeding pairs do just fine outdoors in Southern California weather. An indoor pair can be placed outside (weather permitting), as long as the birds are properly acclimated to the outdoor weather conditions. Late spring and summer, when the evening temperatures do not drop below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, is the best time to start indoor birds outside. My birds are housed all year round outdoors with weather as hot as 100 degrees Fahrenheit to as cool as 38 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brotogeris can hybridize among each other, if given the opportunity. Just recently, I was in a pet shop and saw a tame grey-cheeked parakeet and white-winged parakeet hybrid chick. Please be careful not to house two different species of Brotogeris together. I would not recommend hybridized breedings because pure birds are needed to keep each species going in captivity.

With all the changes in importation regulations, the cost of grey cheeks as well as other imported birds has increased tremendously. More people should set up pairs of Brotogeris for breeding purposes. I know many grey cheek owners who have set up a pair of pet birds in a cage in their living room with a budgie nest box at the pair's disposal. Many of these birds have gone to nest and raised chicks right there in the middle of the house. Soon the two pet birds turned into a family. Breeders are in desperate need of more young grey cheeks, as well as the other species of this family.

Article originally appeared in the January 1995 issue of Bird Talk. This is copyrighted material, reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author and Bird Talk magazine.

The Golden-Winged Parakeet (Brotogeris chrysopterus)

2010-07-22T22:34:00.028-06:00

The Golden-winged Parakeet also known as a golden-wing German: Braunkinnsittich

Again, with these Brotogeris profiles, I don't plan on recreating information on this cousin of the grey cheek, but thought I would provide links to information already available. Check out these pages on the web which include photos, habitat maps, videos, sound recordings, diet and other information regarding these parakeets.

Digitalmorphology of a golden wing
Distribution and breeding
Distribution & Breeding Report - Suriname
GW Stamp
IBC Collection
IUCN Species list - Birdlife International
Photos: Google | Flickr: 1 | 2
Species profile - Avianweb
Species profile - Birdforum
Species profile - Lexicon of Parrots
Species profile - Papageien.org
Species profile
Species Profile - Wikipedia
Species Profile, Care & Status in the Wild - World Parrot Trust
Species Profile - Zeco's page
Species Profile & photo
Videos: YouTube
Xeno-canto's species overview (includes photos and sound recordings of flock calls)

Photos courtesy of Shady Pines Aviary

Publications mentioning Golden Wings:

Cotton, Peter A. "The Behavior and Interactions of Birds Visiting Erythrina fusca Flowers in the Colombian Amazon," Biotropica, 15 Mar 2006, 33(4): 662-669 (Wiley Interscience).
Rhymer, Judith M. and Daniel Simberloff. "Extinction by Hybridization and Introgression," Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Nov. 1996, 27: 83-109 (Annual Reviews).
Thiollay, Jean-Marc and Jullien, Mathilde. "Flocking behaviour of foraging birds in a neotropical rain forest and the antipredator defense hypothesis," Ibis, 28 Jun 2008, 3(140): 382-394 (Wiley Interscience).
Vicentini, Alberto and Fischer, Erich A. "Pollination of Moronobea coccinea (Clusiaceae) by the Golden-Winged Parakeet in the Central Amazon," Biotropica, 1999, 31(4): 692-696 (JSTOR).

The Cobalt-winged Parakeet (Brotogeris cyanoptera)

2010-06-30T19:03:00.022-06:00

The Cobalt-winged parakeet is also known as a cobalt-wing. I don't plan on recreating information on this cousin of the grey cheek, but thought I would provide links to information already available. Check out these pages on the web which include photos, habitat maps, videos, sound recordings, diet and other information regarding these parakeets. Juvenile cobalt wing photo (below right) courtesy of Shady Pines Aviary.

Avianweb.com
IUCN Red List
Lexicon of Parrots
Photos: Flickr | VRO | Google (note: some are misidentified at these sources)
Shady Pines Aviary
Videos: ICP | YouTube
Wikipedia
World Parrot Trust
Xeno-canto's species overview (includes photos and sound recordings of flock calls)
Zeco's cobalt wing page

Here is a YouTube video that someone shared of their pet cobalt wing, Binky, eating and talking a little:

Publications mentioning Cobalt Wings:

Brightsmith, Donald J. "Effects of Diet, Migration, and Breeding on Clay Lick Use
by Parrots in Southeastern Peru," American Federation of Aviculture 2004 Symposium Proceedings, Aug. 2004 (pdf).
Brightsmith, Donald J. "Nest Sites of Termitarium Nesting Birds in SE Peru," Ornitologia Neotropical, 15:-, 2004 (Neotropical Ornithological Society).
Brightsmith, Donald J. "The psittacine year: what drives annual cycles in Tambopata's parrots," VI International Parrot Convention, Loro Parque, Tenerife, Spain, April 2006 (pdf).
Brightsmith, Donald J. "Use of Arboreal Termitaria by Nesting Birds in the Peruvian Amazon," The Condor, 2000, 102(3):529-538 (BioOne Online Journals).
Brightsmith, Donald. "What Eats Parrots?" Bird Talk, Feb. 2000.
Brightsmith, Donald. "Wild Science: Cooperative Breeding," Bird Talk, 17 (Oct. 1999): 74-75.
Cotton, Peter A. "The Behavior and Interactions of Birds Visiting Erythrina fusca Flowers in the Colombian Amazon," Biotropica, 15 Mar 2006, 4(33): 662-669 (Wiley Interscience).
Hammer, Matthias L. A. "Parrot colpa and geophagy behaviour from the El Gato region of the Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone, Amazonia, Peru," Biosphere Expeditions (pdf).
Harris, Robbie. "Breeding the Cobalt-winged Parakeet," A.F.A. Watchbird, 1984C, no. 11, p. 30, 32-34, 36-37.
Keyworth, Jennifer. "College-Bound Bird," Bird Talk, 11 (Sept. 1993): 112-115 (re: cobalt wing).
Low, Rosemary. "Breeding Two Species of Brotogeris Parrakeets (sic) at Loro Parque," Avicultural Magazine, 93 (1987B): 198-201 (re: grey cheeks & cobalt wing).
Pinto, Míriam Plaza; Mathias, Pablo Vinícius Clemente; Blamires, Daniel Blamires; Diniz-Filho, José Alexandre Felizola and Bini, Luis Mauricio. "Selecting priority areas to conserve Psittacines in the Brazilian cerrado: minimizing human–conservation conflicts, Bird Conservation International, 2007, 17:1:13-22 (Abstract).
Tello, Jose G. "Frugivores at a fruiting Ficus in south-eastern Peru," Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2003, 19:6:717-721 (Cambridge Journals).

Pet Bird Care: Grooming

2010-06-19T20:30:00.042-06:00

Topics: avian beak trimming, proper toenail clipping for birds, and correct wing-clipping techniques - do a Google search on any of the grooming topics above to find current articles online.
Web sites with links to numerous articles:

drsfostersmith.com - grooming articles.

Select online articles:

Clipped Birds CAN Fly - avianeducationandresourcecenter.org
Feathers, Flight and Parrot Keeping - Pamela Clark
Flight Feather Trimming: Physiology, Psychology and Philosophy - Layne David Dicker
Grooming Issues: Feathers, Molting, Toenails, Beak Care - TrueParrot.com
How To Clip Your Bird's Nails - TrueParrot.com
How to Take Care of Your Bird's Beak - drsfostersmith.com
How to Clip Parrot's Nails (video) - Kelly Willey, eHow Presenter
How to Trim Parrot Beaks (video) - Kelly Willey, eHow Presenter
How to Trim Parrot Feathers (video) - Kelly Willey, eHow Presenter
Proper Wing Clipping - Margaret A. Wissman, DVM
Pros and Cons of Trimming Flight Feathers - avianeducationandresourcecenter.org
Pros and Cons of Wing Clipping - Judy Leach's Parrots
Safety First: The Issue of Wing Feathers - Mattie Sue Athan
Standardization of Wing Clipping for Psittacines - Margaret A. Wissman, DVM
To Fly or Not To Fly, That is the Question - Steve Martin
Trimming Nails Safely And Successfully - Louise Bauck
Wing Clipping: Why, When & How - Carol Highfill

For further reading, here are articles from various bird publications that you might be able to find at your local library. If none of these publications are available in your library, most libraries have an interlibrary loan service (may be a fee involved). Merely provide them with one or more of these citations.

Gonzalez, Fran. "Wing Clipping Basics," Bird Talk, 14 (May 1996): 72-75.
Kikuchi, June. "Grooming—Just Do It! Keep your bird safe and healthy with these simple grooming tips," Birds USA, (1997/98): 108-109.
Mizera, Richard. "Small Birds: Time for a Trim—Here's How," Bird Talk, 19 (Apr. 2001): 72-73.
Samuelson, Phil. "Clip Those Wings!" Bird Talk, 12 (Apr. 1994): 72.
Wissman, Margaret A. "Proper Toenail Clipping," Bird Talk, 14 (Apr. 1996): 28-29.
Wissman, Margaret A. and Bill Parsons. "Correct Wing-Clipping Techniques," Bird Talk, 11 (May 1993): 69.

Pet Bird Care: Diet and Nutrition

2010-06-19T20:13:00.017-06:00

Topics: avian diet, bird diet, avian nutrition, bird nutrition, parrot diet, bird diet, pelleted diets for birds, pellet conversion, converting a bird's diet - do a Google search on any of these topics to find current articles online.

Web sites with links to numerous articles:

avianeducationandresourcecenter.org - Articles on avian nutrition, food safety, converting your parrot to pellets, vegetable eating tips, and foraging.
birdsnways.com - Articles on diet, nutritional needs and foods.
drsfostersmith.com - Articles & food comparisons.
naturalbird.com - Articles on avian nutrition and holistic health by Dr. Alicia McWatters, author of A Guide to a Naturally and Healthy Bird.
parrotsonline.homestead.com - Articles on diet, nutrition, and health.

Select online articles:

Blanchard, Sally. "A Healthy Parrot Diet," companionparrotonline.com.
McWatters, Alicia. "The Mash Diet: Learn to make this nutritious blend of foods in your own kitchen," Bird Talk, 15 (Mar. 1997): 122-127, (read online: naturalbird.com).
Nutrition for Birds - articles & food comparisons, drsfostersmith.com.
Poole, David. "Safe and Unsafe Foods For Birds," Petcraft (1996).
Schwab, Susan. "Nutrition: Foundation for a Healthy Bird," HotSpot for Birds.
Wilson, Liz. "Is Your Parrot Really Eating a Good Diet," upatsix.com.
Wissman, Margaret. "The Importance of Avian Nutrition," exoticpetvet.net.
Wissman, Margaret. "20 Things You Must Know About Nutrition," Bird Talk, 17 (Aug. 1999): 62-77 read online: exoticpetvet.net).

Armstrong, D. Stewart. "Diet and Nutrition" in The Bird Care Handbook & Resource Guide, 1st ed., Monterey, CA: Seacoast Publishing (1997): 12-13.
Blanchard, Sally. "Parrot Psychology: Proper Nutrition and Eating Behaviors," Bird Talk, 15 (March 1997): 116-119 (mentions grey cheeks).
Chamberlain, Susan. "Cage 'n' Cookin': Success with Fruits and Vegetables," Bird Talk, 19 (Jan. 2001): 68-71.
Chamberlain, Susan. "Nutrition Dos and Donts," Birds USA, 2002/03: 78-83.
Clipsham, Robert. "Fight Malnutrition With Table Foods," Bird Talk, 16 (April 1998): 98-107.
Davis, Chris. "Do or Diet," Bird Talk, 20 (Mar. 2002): 38-47.
Davis, Chris. "Foiling the Finicky Eater," Bird Talk, 13 (Aug. 1995): 46-54.
Henzler, David J. "Avian Nutrition," Bird Talk, 10 (Jan. 1992): 36-40.
Kauffman, Melissa L. "Your Bird's Nutritional World," Birds USA, (1998/99): 72-77.
McWatters, Alicia. "7-Day Diet," Bird Talk, 18 (Feb. 2000): 23-33.
McWatters, Alicia. "Stress Relief Through Dietary Support, Part I," BirdBreeder On-line (Nov. 1997) and "Stress Relief Through Dietary Support, Part II" (Dec. 1997).
Nash, Holly. "Switching from a Seed-based Diet to a Pelleted Diet," peteducation.com
Rind, Sherry. "Basic Avian Dietary Guidelines," Bird Breeder, 67 (Jan. 1995): 18-20.
Sondel, Nancy. "Hooking Your Hookbill on Pellets," Bird Talk, 14 (May 1996): 34-40.
Walz, Patricia. "Nutrition ABC, 123...," Bird Talk, 14 (May 1996): 42.
Wissman, Margaret. "Basic Nutrition," Birds USA, (1997/98): 96-101.

Enjoy Grey Cheek Videos Online

2010-06-19T14:40:00.001-06:00

I created a playlist of grey cheek videos that others have shared online. Enjoy!

Pilot Pookie Takes an Unscheduled Flight

2010-06-19T14:20:00.009-06:00

Photo courtesy of Susie Kidder.

At a bird shop looking for a bird, a clerk, announcing that they were 'new to the states,' showed me a box with about 5 baby grey-cheeked parakeets (grey cheeks) in it. She told me that they were not very popular because of a tendency to be nasty and loud. I put my hand in the box, and, a then nameless and down-feathered, ugly little fluffy thing with huge feet and a big, hook bill stumbled over to my hand. Her beak was so heavy that she dragged it across the floor of the box. When she got to my hand, she sat there with her beak resting in my palm and settled down. I said immediately, "Yes, this is the one for me!" The rest is history.

As someone who has raised birds since I was 12 years old, pets, and I believe particularly birds--due to the strong intellect and sensitivity that birds have--quickly become irreplaceable family members. This increases the devastation of their loss in so many ways. For so small a creature, my Pookie is a very cuddly bird that is sensitive, loving, and caring. She likes to sleep nestled under my neck.

Pookie is very protective of me as well. One year while I was still in high school, I had broken my leg and was in a wheelchair. One day I was in my room with her on my shoulder when a very large friend of mine came into my room very abruptly and noisily and scared both of us. For some reason, my friend used to like to startle me. Never did know why. Anyway, Pookie flew from my shoulder and literally attacked this guy (poor fool!). He wound up in the hospital that evening, requiring two or three stitches under his right eye. She had really latched onto his face with her beak. How can you not love a half-pound, 8 inch little fluffy thing that goes and attacks a 350 pound, 6'4" man, because she thinks you might be in danger?

As a side note on bird intelligence, I have read studies that show birds are smarter than most other animals because of the third dimension added to their movement; non-flighted animals move only in two dimensions while birds can move either in 2 (while walking - lateral or longitudinal) or 3 (in flight - vertical, lateral, and longitudinal). This requires a much different type of thinking. Also, air navigation requires a great amount of photographic memory and the ability to recognize objects at a great distance. This recognition requires a great deal of brain power--smaller more distant objects are compared to memories of larger objects, and position is extrapolated from this comparison. There are pilots with great navigational equipment that STILL can not navigate this well! Also, their eyes refresh the image sent to the brain at nearly 300 times the speed of the human eye (from what I understand). This means that they are much faster thinkers which is required due to the speeds at which the move through the air requiring fast thinking for fast maneuvering. Due to the added third dimension to their intelligence, researchers speculate that if humans had the same brain design, we would be much further advanced than we are currently. Imagine that.

Part of the reason that I am a bird lover is because of my love of flight. The other part is due to my love of airplanes. I love all things that fly. Metal and feathered things, that is minus bugs and bats. Ever since I was a kid, I have marveled at a birds uncanny ability to perform miraculous feats of flight. We have enough trouble landing an aircraft on a runway that is 2500' long, yet a bird can land and perch gracefully on a telephone wire! This has always amazed me. Their abilities for navigation (and particularly in the case of Pookie) have fascinated me as well. When I was 12, my parents wanted me to have a pet that I would relate to, and chose right. I was raised Catholic, and although I am not overly religious, I had always loved the way birds were generally portrayed as messengers of God, and always thought that they fit a very glorious role.

I love to watch Pookie fly, and though she is not as graceful at her landings as I am, she is getting better. She has about the same grace with her landings as a brick, only the landings are much softer.

I believe that I may have been the one that taught her to fly. I had gotten Pookie during a time when not many people knew about these birds. I had been a bird fan for a while and had never even heard of a grey cheek. I got Pookie when she still had down feathers and had to hand feed her with an eye dropper for quite some time. But as she got older, she never flew. She would flutter her wings to catch her balance, but that was about it for the first 3 or 4 months or so. I figured maybe they just were not really flight birds like an ostrich or something.

One day, I stood in front of her flapping my arms up and down, and she flew off of the couch. Granted it was straight down to the floor from there, but it was a start! She began to take the initiative from there on, and she is now a great pilot. I may just have gone too far with her flight training though.

On June 25, 1995, I wanted to spend some time outside with my then 6 year old grey cheek. She is now 9. It was a cloudy day, and we decided to go outside just before it began to rain. I clipped Pookie's wings, as I normally had every few months or so, and off we went. Walking though my back yard, we were having a lot of fun. All of a sudden, my fiance pulled into our driveway, got out, and closed the door. Pookie had not spent much time outside in a while and was a little apprehensive about the loud Geo Trakker that had just pulled up. She was even more uneasy with the closing of the door. Off Pookie went!!!

I couldn't believe it! As a pilot myself, I was absolutely stunned by her clipped-winged flight skills. Broken-hearted, I watched as Pookie climbed about 3 feet for every 15 feet of forward flight with blinding speed. She cleared the lower portion of my house (16') to the west after flying about 90 feet from me. I watched her make a turn to the north, over our very rural neighborhood and then over a large wooded area.

I was so upset. I could not understand how this bird was flying after just having had her wings clipped. My fiance and I looked everywhere for her. It began to rain, and I never thought she was coming back. We went home, both heart-broken. I sat on my roof with her empty cage fighting back tears. I felt that I had betrayed this good little friend of mine who had been there for me through some very hard times by not ensuring her safety before taking her outside. I was hoping that she would maybe fly back in the area, see her cage, and fly to it. She had always seen her cage as her home, not a cage, because the door is nearly always open on it.

After nearly six and a half hours, it began getting dark, and I was by now thoroughly soaked with rain. It was a heavy rain that I was sure my little pilot friend would have been downed by. I decided to turn in for the night and continue looking in the morning.

After bringing her cage in from out on the roof, I went back outside to bring something in that I had left on the ground in my front yard. Through the heavy rain, and darkening sky, I heard her screeching. I looked up in disbelief; she was flying right at me! She touched down on my shoulder and then performed a "go-around", as we pilots refer to it. She missed again, trying to land on my shoulder, and crashed right into the rain-soaked grass. When she got right up, I picked her up, and we danced around my front yard in the rain.

My little Pilot Pookie, as I call her now, had flown around my neighborhood for nearly 7 hours and returned home! Though I can never account for that time, and certainly can not ask her to explain it, I am curious as to what she did during the time, but I know that she must have had the time of her life. She seemed delighted to be home again, though! A happy pair, we went inside and cuddled with my fiancee by the TV as we dried off.

Closer examination revealed that I had, inadvertently, missed two of the required 5 or so feathers that you need to clip, on both wings. Although her climb performance was adversely affected, as I had mentioned, she was none-the-less able to fly. This story should serve as proof, if not as a funny short, that proper wing-clipping for bird owners is essential and needs to be done correctly. I was just lucky that Pookie was able to find her way back to me!

Written by Joe Castanza
Edited by Ladyhawke

Grey-cheeked Parakeets in Guayaquil, Ecuador

2010-06-19T14:15:00.007-06:00

In September 30, 2008, an article appeared in the Urban Parrot Conservation section in Cityparrots.org stating that the IUCN lists the Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris pyrrhoptera) as endangered. Birdlife International states that this "species qualifies as endangered because it has been affected by very rapid rates of population decline caused by trapping for the cagebird trade, plus habitat loss. Future population declines are projected to be slower, but still a serious cause for concern."

Cityparrots.org went on to mention that "with 59,320 birds reportedly imported by CITES countries between 1983-1988. In 1995, the wild population was estimated at 15,000 birds, principally in Ecuador. This represents a very crude decline of c.70% in 10 years, although it is still locally common in suitable habitat remnants."

The article continued stating that "several feral Brotogeris species do well in cities. The Brotogeris versicolurus subspecies have colonised several cities in North (mostly in Florida and California) and South America. Brotogeris tirica is also numerous in Sao Paulo, locally often referred to as maritacas."

"Cityparrots.org aims to incorporate native urban areas in parrot conservation. One major conglomerate in the range of the Grey-cheeked Parakeet is Guayaquil, the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador. Made curious by Forshaws' note that the Grey-cheeked Parakeet frequents the urban parks of Guayaquil [they] asked [their] friends from Jambeli's Foundation what they knew about the species in Guayaquil. Rafaela Orrantia replied by sending [them] several images and videos of this endangered parakeet visiting her backyard. She notes that the parakeet is very common in Guayaquil. The parakeets probably naturally colonized the city trough the "Chongón-Colonche" mountain range which has its beginning in the city."

"But not all is bliss. Guayaquil was not colonized by the Grey-cheeked Parakeet alone. Brotogeris versicolurus is now also commonly seen in the city and flocks with the native species. This raises all kinds of concerns. Being closely related the two species might interbreed, genetically weakening the species. More research is needed to see if hybrids of the two species are fertile and to what extend hybridisation occurs."

Additionally, "more pressing however is the competition between the two species. B. versicolurus is known to be a very potent urban colonizer. Which in time might out compete the Grey-cheeked Parakeet for which no data on urban colonization exists. Monitoring the population growth of both species would be important to assess the conservation status of B. pyrrhoptera in Guayaquil and if selective removal of B. versicolurus is necessary."

Link: Guayaquil, Ecuador on Google Maps

Sources: Cityparrots.org, Jambeli's Foundation, Birdlife International

The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Syndrome

2010-06-19T14:10:00.006-06:00

As a breeder who has owned and raised grey cheeks for about 9 years, I have had a chance to observe and puzzle over their seemingly inconsistent behavior. Several individuals have even returned grey cheeks to me because of this, and as a result, I have compiled some useful information from my observations to help new and current grey cheek owners comprehend their bird's behavior.

I think it's very important to understand the maturing process of grey cheeks and some of the personality changes that occur as sex hormones kick in. Whenever I sell these birds, I try to educate people about the changes they may see, since as the bird matures, they frequently do not understand the changes, and the bird is then abused, neglected or worse.

Here is a quick summary of what I have observed and learned by reading every bit of information I can find on grey cheeks:

As they mature...

0 - 12 months - Babies are generally very tame and cuddly, sweet. Some bite occasionally, especially the dominant personalities.

12 - 24 months - Sexual maturing process takes place. Behavior I see is:

Continued sweetness, but bonding with certain individuals occurs. May see some biting and aggressiveness towards "competition."
Dominating and territorial behavior begins. They can get very noisy if strangers come near.
Biting may start, especially in or near the cage (the bird's home). Note that I have had some birds (out of about 60) that never or rarely bite, but most of them do--it's part of their way of communicating and controlling their environment.
Like people, cats and dogs, their adult personalities will range from naturally passive and sweet to overbearing and aggressive. Note that you can train them to minimize aggression. I have never been able to predict how a baby will turn out.

18 months and older - Maturing continues.

They are a lot like Amazons and can be moody and testy. I have had several mateless birds start plucking all their feathers as hormones arrive, and they need mates. Biting can be frequent and appears random, but I do not believe it is. I think it's for at least one of several reasons:
The bird is simply trying to dominate you to show who is boss.
It may be competing with someone else for their human mate's attention. In the wild, birds will bite/strike their mates to drive them away from another bird trying to horn in on their mate.
It is mating season (from about March to September for grey cheeks), and their natural instincts make them more territorial and aggressive than usual.
It is protecting its territory. Usually you see this near its cage or when you are its territory (like your shoulder).

One grey cheek owner shared a video on YouTube about their grey cheeks defeating the slipper demon.

The fact that your grey cheek is biting does not mean the bird does not like you. If anything, it means it likes you very much and wants you for a mate. It helps to remember that wild grey cheeks live in large flocks and compete all the time for food, mates, and the best nesting places. They appear to take on long-term mates and bond very deeply with their chosen ones. They also get in bad moods and just want to be left alone (PMS?). When my pairs are nesting, even my sweet guys will bite me hard if I come near, and they can get me. They then revert during the off season.

Here's how I handle biting with fairly good success:

Like dogs, you have to establish dominance over your bird--you must be the boss! When one of my birds bites me--and it hurts, I hold the bird in one hand and grip its beak firmly (do not squeeze your bird too tightly as they still need to breath) with the other for up to a minute while saying "No!" Basically, it makes the bird helpless, which it does not like. Do this consistently every time it nips or deliberately bites, and after a while, you should see the biting diminish or disappear (at least with you--it will probably still be vicious with others).

I love grey cheeks and hate to see them mistreated as they age and their owners do not know how to adapt to them. If you keep control over them, most grey cheeks remain some of the best companions I know.

Written by Kathleen Mandis

Article has been reprinted with the author's permission. This article may not be reprinted without written consent from the author.

A Case of Visceral Gout in a Grey-cheeked Parakeet

2010-06-19T14:05:00.005-06:00

Our greycheek, Kelly, died about a year ago from visceral gout. Three years back she was having balancing problems, and we thought she was just being clutsy from getting overexcited. As time grew on, we heard her emit an almost regular short squeak, and with each one there was a slight jerk to her head and body, but she otherwise was alert, and you could see recognition in her eyes. So that night, we went to bed and tried to get some sleep and planned on having her checked out the following morning at the vet. Well a short time later, probably as soon as we managed to knock out, we heard the same squeaking, but this time more rapidly and somewhat urgent sounding. When we went to check on her, she was on the floor of her cage having seizures to one side. We grabbed her carrier box and made a mad pace to an emergency clinic that normally only saw cats and dogs, but had reports of basic emergency bird care. By the time we got her there, the fool bird acted fine.

So... back home we went. We put her back in her cage to sleep and tried to get some of our own. Not long thereafter, we started hearing the same squeaking, but this time she's seizing on both sides of her body, and her eyes were narrowed shut. We did another pace down the highway back to the emergency vet. He saw her and said he couldn't do anything but called (after midnight mind you) one of the avian vets at the UW Animal Hospital.

The vet at UW stated that Kelly had grossly elevated urate levels and seemed to possibly have a bacterial infection. She was dosed for a few days under constant watch with allopurinol and an antibiotic. After a few days, she came back home with us, and the doc said she'd also lost enough weight that I should feed her virtually anything she wanted, including her most favorite treat, Nutriberries, and let her eat her fill. She recovered completely, and we were told this was lucky, as visceral gout is usually fatal.

Well two years later, she started showing the same symptoms. This time we hauled her straight to the UW avian vet. Visceral gout had come back, probably worse though no seizures this time, just the squeak/twitch. She was refusing food and was losing several grams of weight a day. No urate coming out in her poop at all this time.

She had a brief period of being alert at the hospital, but they said with visceral gout all they could do was give her allopurinol again, minus the antibiotic this time as no infection was noticed. Knowing this disease was usually fatal, I begged them to give the antibiotic anyhow, especially given her chances, along the lines of "if it worked before." They sent her back home with us, and again, we feed her anything she could eat. This time though she was much weaker and was not eating or drinking on her own. I got some banana and rice Gerber flakes, mixed it up slightly thicker than the norm but not real lumpy, and tried to syringe feed her. She would barely eat, but she did eat some. The second day she was worse and was noticeably thinner, so I had to take the risky measure of pushing a crop-feed. Thankfully she didn't choke, and I knew I had been lucky and hit the mark. Her cage area underwent some modifications as well, and with the help of a heat lamp and a sliding light control switch, her cage was kept at a constant 90 degrees, and we kept water near her for humidity.

She was still getting thinner even with the crude attempt at crop feeding and was also now vomiting. She started looking sub-skeletal, early starvation. I told my roommate that we "had to consider the realistic options." Gads did he ever start acting weird! I had to be the clear-headed one for a change. In a day or so, and after my reminding him of her daily weight drop, I told him that basically she'd die of starvation within just a few more days, 2-3 at the rate she was going. She was almost never alert now, and no food or water was being consumed. So we took her to the vet... a more humane solution than letting her slowly starve to death, and there were obvious signs that she was in discomfort and pain.

Anyhow, this is probably a combination of release as well as to mention visceral gout is something to watch for. Also, as an early suggestion in view of the fact so little seems to be known about why it comes about in birds, to consider the antibiotic regimen along with the allopurinol anyhow. The vet admitted that he couldn't explain why Kelly pulled through the first time but not the second.

Article by T. Johnson

Additional reading for this topic:

Bacon, Constance. "Eclectus Diet," Winged Wisdom, Sept./Oct. 1997.
Banday, M.T., Bhakt, Mukesh and Hamid, Sheikh Adil. Avian Gout: Causes and Treatment, May 26, 2009.
Ensley, P. Caged bird medicine and husbandry. Veterinary Clinics of North American Small Animal Practice. Aug. 1979, 9(3):499-525. (avail. on PubMed).
Foster, Drs. and Smith Educational Staff. Gout in Birds: How to Recognize the Signs in Your Bird.
Gout in Birds: Avian Gout, PetMD.
Guo X, Huang K, Tang J. Clinicopathology of gout in growing layers induced by high calcium and high protein diets. British Poultry Science, Oct. 2005, 46(5):641-6 (avail. online in PubMed).
Hines, Ron DVM. Gout In Pet Birds, Avian Kidney Disease.
McAfee, L.T. and Gergis, A.L. Gout in a parakeet. Modern Veterinary Practice. May 1981, 62(5):388-90 (avail online in PubMed).
"Nutrition-Associated and Metabolic Disorders," California Avian Laboratory.
Pegram, R.A. and Wyatt, R.D. "Avian gout caused by oosporein, a mycotoxin produced by Caetomium trilaterale," Poultry Science, Nov. 1981, 60(11):2429-40 (avail. online in PubMed).
"Protein quality issues," The Bird Care Company.
"Protein, kidneys, gout," The Bird Care Company.
Roth, Erica. How to Treat Avian Gout, eHow.com.
Shivaprasad, H.L. Avian Gout excerpt from "An overview of anatomy, physiology and pathology of urinary system in birds," AAV Proceedings (1998) 201-205.
Swicegood, Carolyn. "The Kitchen Physician: Nature's Pharmacy."
Visceral and Articular Gout. Avianweb.com.
Warden, Margrethe. Visceral Gout in Birds. Lorikeets.com.
Wissman, Margaret A. "Causes and Cures: Demystifying Gout," Bird Talk, 23 (Sept. 2005): 52-53,86.

The Accident Prone Grey Cheek

2010-06-19T14:00:00.003-06:00

Owners, in case you have not figured it out for yourself, grey-cheeked parakeets (grey cheeks), due to their inquisitive and fearless nature, are quite prone to all types of accidents. Robbie Harris' book (1985) and some of her articles mention grey cheeks will challenge or try to play with larger parrots and can sustain serious injuries from a larger bird not willing to put up with their antics. In their practice, Drs. Walter Rosskopf, Jr. and Richard Woerpel (1996), Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital in California, have noted injuries in grey cheeks from larger birds as well. In my own experience, my grey cheek, Kiwi, had one of her left, rear toes removed by a quaker parakeet when she was about 5 months old. The nail is completely gone leaving just a stub.

Grey cheeks also sustain many injuries from their climbing and wandering tendencies. Kiwi--whose wings are clipped--once jumped to the floor from a height of 8 feet. Luckily, she was not injured. She even jumped from my shoulder into a dish of soft margarine one time. What a mess!

I received an e-mail from a woman named Helene from Tennessee last month about her grey cheek, Baby, who is one of the 'fearless' ones who's antics caused a life-threatening situation. "A year ago my 'baby' dove off the balcony with clipped wings; he glided poorly to the carpet below. He broke his mandebill, and after several operations, his split beak still grows sideways. I have to keep it filed constantly, and he no longer has the ability to eat seeds. His diet consists of bread crumbs mixed with baby foods, vegetables, meat, and fruit. I blend all his food and feed him from a spoon most of the time. Last night we were in the den, and he was on his cage upstairs in one of the rooms. He decided that he wanted to be with the rest of us, so the next thing we knew he came flying off the balcony on to my husband's lap and was billing and cooing and looking for attention. [Though] only 6 years old, he...is doing well [despite his handicap]. He's a character and even with the broken beak he is fearless. We love him to pieces."

Grey cheeks climb on electrical cords if not supervised and love to burrow in tight, warm places. I have received numerous e-mail messages from owners who have lost grey cheeks due to rolling over on them and crushing or smothering their pet when the bird was allowed to sleep with them. Grey cheeks also get underfoot, get beneath you when sitting, or may be climbing up your clothes and get stepped or sat on. According to emails that I have received, crushing/smothering seems to be high on the list of accidental deaths in grey cheeks.

Other hazards are ceiling fans, hot burners, open pans of hot grease or boiling water, open lids on toilets, etc.

Being extremely intelligent and single-mindedly determined is another trait that many grey cheeks exhibit. I have been seriously attempting to keep Kiwi away from my other bird, Chipper, until she recovers from an illness, in order to protect my other bird. She is 'bound and determined' that she will get in Chipper's cage. She stalks the floor, back and forth, looking for ways to get up to his cage. I have a good laugh every time I watch this process. Her latest attempt at accessing his cage was successful. I left the room and came back just in time to see her climbing up the mesh on the stereo speaker and watched her leap over from the speaker onto Chipper's cage. She was extremely pleased with herself, and then perturbed, when she was scooped up by me and placed back into her own cage. The speaker is now farther away from Chipper's cage much to Kiwi's chagrin.

I have also caught Kiwi hanging by her beak, legs flailing in the air because she had attempted a feat beyond her abilities and needed rescuing. She has started leaping off my shoulder or finger sometimes when we are walking around the house, and she lands fairly hard. No injuries there so far. Unfortunately, since she has been ill, she does not like to have me out of her sight and has started walking around the apartment hunting for me. This is a major concern as grey cheeks are fairly small birds. I have to be extra careful where I walk and of Kiwi's location when she's out of her cage.

I cannot stress strongly enough that grey-cheeked parakeets must be supervised at all times when they are allowed 'out' time! Please take every precaution you can with grey cheeks in the house. You never know what they might be up to.

Reprinted from the former Grey-cheeked Parakeet website, 1997.

Helpful Things You Can Do For Your Bird & What Not To Do

2010-06-19T13:55:00.004-06:00

Give your bird(s) a lot of love, time, and patience.
Consider subscribing to Bird Talk magazine. This is a helpful source of information on caring for pet birds.
Wash fresh fruits and veggies before giving them to your bird and give him/her fresh food and water every day.
Allow your bird to bath frequently at least a couple of times a week and daily if possible. My bird prefers a bath taken in a small 5-6" wide (2-3" high) bowl of water (room temperature).
Teach your bird the "up" and "down" commands. Although with grey cheeks, they don't always wish to obey the "down" command. They sometimes grip their owner's finger even tighter when one gives the "down" command!
Take your bird for regular well-bird check-ups with a certified avian vet. Also consider keeping an Avian First Aid Kit in your home and check out NetVet.
Consider purchasing the following books to keep as references in your home: 1) The Bird Care Book: All you need to know to keep your bird healthy and happy by Sheldon L. Gerstenfeld, V.M.D., 1989--$12.95 and 2) First Aid for Birds: The Essential quick-reference guide by Tim Hawcroft, 1994--$10.00.
Clip your bird's wings when the primary coverts grow out and trim your bird's nails when they get long and sharp (if you are not acquainted with these procedures, please have a professional do it for you; it is fairly inexpensive to have done).
Dismantle and clean your bird's cage completely, including toys and perches, with hot, soapy water to which a capful of liquid bleach (like lemon Clorox) has been added. This will clean and sterilize the cage to provide a safe environment for your pet.
Consider leaving a radio on during the day when you are away at work or school to keep your bird entertained and allow some supervised "out" time for your bird when you are home.
Research a bird species you are interested in before you buy one to determine if it is right for you.

Visit Birds n Ways' Library of Articles/FAQs which has a listing of excellent bird care articles too numerous to reference here.

What Not to Do

Never buy a bird merely for its color, buy a bird on impulse, or for the sole purpose of expecting it to be a talker (and then be disappointed if it is not).
Do not lose your temper or get frustrated with your bird or its behavior. Birds, like other animals, are in tune with their owner's emotions and will react accordingly.
Do not use teflon or other coated cook ware (fumes from overheated pans can kill your bird if heated past a certain temperature).
Do not keep your bird shut up in its cage all the time. Birds have feelings too and will be extremely unhappy if shut up constantly and may develop behavioral problems as a result.
Do not feed your bird avocado, chocolate or foods full of sugar, fat, salt, or an all seed diet.
Do not use soaps or other chemicals directly on your bird or use aerosols, paint, or other chemical products around your bird(s); they have very delicate, sensitive respiratory systems and could die from asphyxiation.
Do not place your bird directly by a heater or place your bird in direct sunlight without providing a place for him/her to be in the shade (sun/heat stroke could occur). Do not place your bird near an open window or near an air conditioner as birds are susceptible to upper respiratory infections.
Do not let your bird chew on jewelry, buttons, dried paint, metal blinds, treated wood, etc. (paint and costume jewelry, especially, could contain lead; and wood can be treated with harmful chemicals).
Do not walk blindly into bird care without knowing how to care for them.
Do not let your bird's nails get too long as they can get caught in frayed ropes or other toys in its cage or let your bird's primary coverts completely grow out. Free-flying birds can accidentally escape through an open window or door, fly into windows, mirrors, water boiling on the stove or a hot frying pan, or land in the commode and drown.
Do not let your bird's cage go uncleaned as mites, bacteria, old food, and feces can adversely affect your bird's health.

Taking Care of your Grey Cheek - Brotogeris Diet

2010-06-19T13:50:00.004-06:00

So, you've found yourself the brand new owner of a Grey-cheeked Parakeet, a member of the Brotogeris family of birds. Now what do you do? This was the situation I found myself in back in 1995! A cute little grey cheek had strained toward me in a local pet shop and begged me to take her home. She was minus a toe and a bit pricey, but it was love at first sight. Luckily, I was an experienced bird owner (or is that ownee?) and had read articles about the species so wasn't totally unprepared to care for a bird. Below is some information that a new owner might find helpful in caring for a new grey cheek.

Vegetables: Peas in the shell or thawed frozen peas, broccoli, corn (fresh or thawed frozen corn), green beans, cooked and cooled limas, yellow or green squash (baked), carrots (raw or cooked), grated beets, red or green peppers, cucumbers, greens (such as chopped spinach, Swiss chard or other greens), cooked pinto beans, cooked lentils, cooked white beans. Please note that is important to let cooked food cool thoroughly before offering them to your Brotogeris, otherwise they could burn their tongues and crops.
Fruit: Apples (their absolute favorite!), blueberries, cut-up oranges, tangerines, bananas, pears, grapes, peaches, melon (minus the rind), strawberries, papaya, plums, cherries, Always remove seeds/pits from fruit before serving.
Starches: Cooked brown rice, cooked pasta, baked or boiled shredded potatoes or yams (corn/peas are also starches). It is also good to sprinkle a good avian vitamin supplement on fresh fruit and veggies mixtures.
Other: Pellets (Roudybush, etc.), a good seed blend such as Kaytee's Forti-diet cockatiel mixture, spray millet, sprouted seed, Lafeber's Avi-cakes, a mineral block or cuttlebone, multi-grain cereals that are low in sodium, sugar, and fat.

Grey cheek, Merry, enjoying his breakfast

As a working woman and head of household, I do not always have time to spend cutting and chopping in the mornings or evenings, so I started doing a few shortcuts. Cook up batches of the following items separately: cooked peas, carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, brown rice, pasta, yams, acorn squash, potatoes, pinto beans, lentils, white beans, pasta, yams, acorn squash, shredded potatoes, and brown rice. Rinse the batches well, cut them up as needed, and freeze them spread out on a cookie sheet so that they do not stick together. When the items are frozen, the pan is then removed from the freezer, and its contents broken up, placed in ziplock freezer bags, and dated. The same procedures works well with a cooked mixture of pinto beans, lentils, white beans and split peas. In addition, it is easy and fairly economical to purchase a bag of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, corn, peas, green beans & limas) when they are on sale and keep these in the freezer as well.

Then, as needed, open the different bag mixtures, take out some of each, place in a microwave dish, add a little water, and pop everything into the microwave for 5-7 mins. Some of the newer microwave models cook in less time than this.

Dump the hot mixture in a colander, run some cool water over it, so that it isn't scalding hot, and give your bird about a 1/4 cup serving dish of the mixture. They REALLY love it! Your bird will probably make contented little noises when he/she eats and have a mess on his/her beak afterward--not to mention the wall, floor, etc.

Cook enough of the mixture to last for a couple of days and keep it in the refrigerator. Also treat your bird with fruit from the list above. I use the term 'treat' when it comes to fruit since green cheeks definitely have a sweet tooth, and when fruit is mixed into their regular food dishes with the vegetables, they rarely eat the veggies! I found that it's wise to give them fruit at a different time than they are given vegetables. But it is important to provide fruit as a steady part of their diet.

It is equally important to thoroughly wash fresh fruits and veggies that you give to your birds. Any fresh food that you give your bird should be removed from their cage after an hour or so, otherwise it tends to spoil (bacteria) and is not good for your bird.

Housing Your Grey Cheek/Brotogeris

2010-06-19T13:45:00.001-06:00

The HOEI (18.3" x 18.3" x 22") cage is an excellent cage for Brotogeris birds and gives them plenty of room to move around. They are difficult to find these days, but a cage similar to this would work fine for your pet. The cage that you select should have 1/2" to 3/4" bar spacing. One would suggest putting newspaper (cut to the cage size) in the bottom of the cage for adult birds; make a stack of about 10-20 papers high and then just remove the top soiled paper every day as grey cheeks tend to be messy--both their food and stool. However, if your Brotogeris is still a baby, being hand fed, and lives in the bottom of its cage, newspaper would not be a good choice.

It is necessary to give your bird fresh water every day. All food dishes, glass water tubes, etc. should be washed in hot, soapy dish water with a capful of liquid bleach--lemon Clorox is good--added to the water to disinfect the dishes at least twice a week if not daily (also a good idea to clean their wooden perches and all their toys as well in this solution making sure that the perches and toys are rinsed well and dried off before putting them back in the cage). The entire cage should be dismantled and cleaned with the same solution at least once a month. [Also see article How Clean is Clean?]

It is important to provide a variety of different perches for your bird, so that their feet do not get sore from being in the same position all the time. Some suggestions for mixing and matching are: 1/2" wooden dowels (untreated), Comfort perches, small or medium Booda cables, natural manzanita perches, and a small (3/4") cement perch to keep their nails dull.

The site owner suggests that one purchases (or makes one's own) play area for your bird as grey cheeks need a lot of "out" time from their cages when you are home and can supervise. For your bird's safety and to better train your bird, make sure your bird's wings are clipped first by a professional; your bird's nails should be clipped by a professional as well since windows, large mirrors, food cooking on your stove, commodes, etc. can endanger your bird's life). If kept in their cages too much, some grey cheeks can throw temper tantrums that you would not believe! Grey cheeks also need a wide variety of toys to play with to keep them entertained (but don't overstock their cage with toys so that they have no room to maneuver!).

In addition, rotating toys every week or two will help keep them from getting bored. The owner's bird enjoys playing with toys that have bells on them. They especially like rope toys that they can swing and climb on (and hang upside down from!).

The Pet Potential of the Grey-cheeked Parakeet

2010-06-19T13:40:00.005-06:00

Brotogeris refers to this genus' talking ability and means "with the voice of a man." Pyrrhopterus means "red" or "flame" therefore the term "fire-wing" applies to grey cheeks for their bright orange underwing coverts. Grey cheeks are often called "pericos" by Ecuadorians which is Spanish for "little parrot."

Most common pronunciation heard for Brotogeris has been: broh-toh-JERR-iss with a long "o" sound and the "g" sounding like that of Geritol or Jerry. Have also heard it pronounced broh-TOJJ-uh-riss (accent on the second syllable) and an Americanized version, broh-toh-GAIR-iss (soft "g" sound like in Gary). Pyrrhopterus is pronounced pirr-HOPP-turr-uhs (with long "i" sound, "Pie-ur") and also heard as purr-HOPP-turr-oos. Personally, I'll leave it to the Latin experts.

From sources I have read, grey-cheeked parakeets (grey cheeks) are unique birds; originating in parts of Ecuador and Peru, they were imported into the United States in large numbers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have been set up by a number of breeders in all parts of the country, make excellent pets, and, according to Dr. David Alderton ("You and Your Pet Bird"), have an average life span of 15 years.

Though relatively quiet birds when compared to macaws, cockatoos, or conures, grey cheeks can be fairly boisterous when they want to be and can even become annoying at times. I am always amused when people ask, "Are they noisy?" or "Are they loud?" Arthur Freud ("The Complete Parrot," p. 10) summed it up best when he said, "Parrots are sometimes referred to as noisy. This is rather like calling river wet. Noise and parrots go together, and if noise would be a problem in your home you probably should not own a parrot."

Grey cheeks weigh 54-68 grams and are about 8 inches long (this includes the tail) (20 cm), while other members of the Brotogeris family can be anywhere from 7-9 inches in length. These birds were not rated in the top ten by Bird Talk magazine in their talking ability, but a number of them have a good capacity for speaking. My bird learned to say "hello", "peek-a-boo", the name of another bird (also imitated the voice of the other bird to a "T"), made kissing noises, and wolf whistled. All parrots have the capability of talking, although not every parrot, even in a particular genus known to be good talkers, will learn or choose to speak. Some simply do not want to talk.

Grey cheeks are generally sweet-natured, and those that have been hand-fed love to be held and have their heads scratched (preened). In fact, they prefer to be with you 90% of the time and will even beg with little buzzing beeps for you to pick them up. My bird would even turn her head completely upside down to get my attention! Once on their beloved human buddy, they are reluctant to let go of your hand or clothing and often tighten their grip on your finger. Needless to say, my grey cheek decided not to obey the "down" command (she was very stubborn about it too) and sometimes had to be pried from my finger to be put back in her cage. This was more of an endearing quality than a nuisance. They really like their owners!

Occasionally, grey cheeks will start frantically flapping their wings or thrashing about their cage right after they have been covered for the night. It seems to me that the bird is simply showing its displeasure at you daring to put it to bed before it is ready to go! My tiels do this too on occasion.

Grey cheeks will often pick up food with their foot like larger parrots, lift it to their beak, and eat it while standing on one foot. They will even drag a favorite food to a higher perch in their cage--or on top of their cage--before eating the item with relish.

They are also proficient climbers and are able to get just about anywhere they want to go. I would turn my back one minute and find a certain little green bird had jumped off her cage, ran across the floor, and climbed up the bookcase. How the bird got up the bookcase is still a mystery to me, especially since her wings were clipped, and she usually climbed, walked or hopped to get where she wanted to go! They are also extremely intelligent, very bold, require a lot of time, and seem to need a lot of their owner's personal attention. Very needy birds.

Many breeders and owners recommend grey cheeks as first time pet birds. It is my personal opinion that they would make a good addition to an already established home of one or more birds as long as one has the time to devote to this bird. One breeder indicated to me that she thought grey cheeks disliked children. According to an article that I read by Susan Hoss ("Hello, My Name Is Captain Flint"), this is not true. Susan and her husband not only have taken their grey cheeks to grade school with them but have used them to help teach classes! The kids absolutely loved them and begged to have them come back! I think the only reasons a grey cheek might resent a child is if the bird were jealous of the child, afraid of a child or if the bird were mishandled by the child at some point or felt that the child was invading it's territory. But I think this would hold true for any bird species and not just grey cheeks.

lthough they can be very sweet, grey cheeks are also quite territorial and will start 'hollering' or may bite you as a warning when a stranger comes into their home. They also tend--although this is not always true--to nip their owners or owners' friends if they feel threatened, which, of course, can be problematical. A number of articles that I have read mention that grey cheeks will challenge a bird 5 times their size (or even a visitor to your home) and seem quite fearless in announcing their displeasure to newcomers invading their territory. I have seen this behavior in these birds as well.

Reprinted from the former Grey-cheeked Parakeet website, 1997.

Additional Reading Materials:

forthcoming

Video: Whistling Mick the Grey Cheek

2010-06-19T13:35:00.003-06:00

Meet Whistling Mick, the grey cheek wonder, wolf whistling at his stuffed oinking pig. Mick's owner had given me permission to display this for my web site a number of years ago. It is just extremely cute! Makes me miss my Kiwi. She was an excellent wolf whistler.

New Location for the Grey-cheeked Parakeet Web site

2010-06-18T20:30:00.000-06:00

Hi all! Yes, I am finally getting around to moving the web site to this location where it'll be easier to take care of, easier to navigate, and will be updated more readily. Face it, the old site was ugly, out of date, and an embarrassment.

I originally created the Grey-cheeked Parakeet Web site, because I had acquired a grey cheek as a pet, and she was quite a handful. There was absolutely no information about them at all on the Web. Before creating the site, I provided some information about grey cheeks to the Pet Bird Page. There was an overwhelming response of email from that page with questions I felt ill-equipped to handle. So, I did something about it. I put up my own website, in 1995, and spent the next couple of years extensively researching the species. It expanded to cover information about the rest of the Brotogeris family and information about caring for caged birds as well. When Kiwi became ill, the research turned to medical problems associated with these birds. Sadly, Kiwi (pictured above) passed in November of 1998. This site is dedicated to her.

Please note that I am NOT a grey cheek breeder, so please don't ask me if I have any to sell. I do not. I am merely a former grey cheek owner.

With the status of 'near-threatened' for many years, grey cheeks are now an endangered species.

Ladyhawke is owned by a green-cheeked conure, three tiels, and a budgie and has been owned by pet birds for 34 years.