The Grey Cheek: Larger Than Life

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.
Copyright © 1998 B.A. Marsh and Winged Wisdom. All rights reserved.

• 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.

Pilot Pookie Takes an Unscheduled Flight

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

The Pet Potential of the Grey-cheeked Parakeet

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.

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