Nate:

Poicephalus is just about it. This includes Senegals, Jardines, Meyers, Brown-headed, Niam-Niam, Ruppell's, Yellow-Faced, Capes and Red Bellies. According to "Parrots of the World" by Forshaw and Cooper, "all but two of the eighteen species of parrots (on the African continent) belong to only two genera, Poicephalus and Agapornis."

Agapornis are, of course, love birds. I believe the two exceptions are the Vasa parrot and the grey parrot....but I'm not 100% positive of that.

Most of the Poicephalus species are very similar to the Senegal but the Jardine looks more like an Amazon (IMHO).

Once you get used to saying and thinking in terms of "Poicephalus" it isn't so bad. It's kind of fun! It's Dr. Suessian in a way as in you have your "exceptionalus poicephalus:.....your "noseblowus Poicephalus"..."Poicephalus Comejoinus"......Well, you get the picture.

Mona

Thanks for clearing that up... Poicephalus it is, then.

You might want to see if you have cookies turned off in your web browser, that might be why your post appeared from 'anonymous' instead of 'Mona.'

This is Elliot (Meyer's) and Maxwell (red-bellied).

I've had Elliot for about 4½ years (he was a year old when I got him; I'm his 5th home) and he's long been my very special little buddy. I love all of the birds in my flock and each has a special place in my heart, but Elliot has the biggest :). He's very sweet, soft, and cuddly with me (he doesn't like anybody else), talks a little, is an excellent flyer who flies just for the fun of it and is beautiful in flight, eats like a trooper (doesn't like seeds unless they're germinated, favorite food is graham cracker), and would spend every waking minute adoring me if he could. (Pardon the anthromorphosizing please.)

Maxwell came to live with us last summer from the same owner as Miracle. He turned 2 in December, and I've never known a happier, more enthusiastic-about-everything, more inquisitive, busier, more active parrot in my life. Whatever he does, he does BIG! One minute he'll be falling asleep while I cuddle him, and the next he's swooping around the house like a barn swallow, and a minute later he's destroying a toy. This is my larger-that-life bird! He also has an excellent vocabulary, speaks very clearly, and converses in context even more than my grey. Looking back, life before Maxwell was quite dull in comparison!

ChiaOwl
http://www.owly.net
http://www.ittybittybirdiebites.com

Hi,I'm new to forum and chats in general so please forgive if things don't seem right.I would love to post some pics of the kids but I haven't figured out just yet how. To explain the user name - Cozmo; my naked little senegal sweety monster, Merlin ; some of you may know him from a pet store on capital hill in Seattle(CAG) and Joey(JOZILLA) an orange faced PF lovebird who decided never to take a mate in his breeding career but to amuze his humans until they gave up and placed him with his current slave.I also have a flock of(at time of writing) 14 budgies . I don't like to be called a "breeder" as I take an active role with each of my birds though I do at times allow the really scrappy hens to sit a clutch once a year.Don't get me wrong I don't have a problem with responsible breeders,but we have a responsibility to ensure that we don't end up creating a supply and demand for euthanasia solution.(I'll step off the soap box now, My appologies if I offended anyone.) I sure hope that the flyday continues here in Seattle as my birds are not quite up to the challenge(except Jozilla) and need work and training that will take a good year(Feather re growth ,muscle developement and confidence. I am curently still trying to find answers to the featheer plucking barbering thing and hope I never give up til Coz has a glossy coat from head to toe so I am particularly interested in hearing about feather plucker successes if there are any. As far as I can tell he's been plucking for 7 1/2of his 8 years and I can see psychological as well as medical causes at work. I have had much experience with many species and have some regrets from my past that I will never repeat and hope to help others from experiencing by relating rather than trial and error. No worries I'll only offer if it can help someone with a particular situation. I'll also try to be less verbose. So that's who I am. So ...I read the tips on training flight but I wonder if there is any help getting a bird to grasp that the power of flight is his and a good thing. I can't get Cozmo to take a self initiated flight except as a panic reaction and that's not how I want to train in confidence Any tips

Welcome aboard Cozmerzilla! I think fly-to-perch and recall training did wonders to get Phoebe more confident about flying. I had a head start in getting her to fly at all, since her previous owner had let her wings stay on for a couple years, but she still mostly flew only in emergencies. Getting her to fly for transportation was still a challenge though.

One of the big things that helped was requiring her to fly to for breakfast in the mornings - for a while I would carry her out of her room and to the kitchen every morning, then one day I just stood at the doorway and waited until she flew to me. That was a huge milestone. She hesitated a lot at first, but soon she was coming to me with no hesitation each morning.

I have seen friends use the fly-to-perch idea to get birds to take their first flights, it works well and is pretty safe if you start small (stepping, not flying) and increase the distance VERY gradually. Make sure they're focused on the destination you want before you give them a toss - if they're not staring at it, leaning toward it, and quivering, practice step-to-perch (and reward each time) until they get that kind of motivation. That helps prevent out-of-control flights where they get airborne and don't know where to go next.

If you want to come visit a fly day just to watch some training, you are welcome. Just don't bring any birds until we talk about the health policy and stuff on your first visit. There are a couple of people who are teaching clipped birds (or birds that were clipped when we started doing this stuff), and you might be surprised to see how well they fly.

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA

For Meyers lovers, my little Feliz's breeder, Anita Golden, had quite an experience with a clutch laid unusually soon after Feliz was born (7/04/05). One baby survived and she put his story, and daily pix, online. Check out www.nitasnest.homestead.com/moxie.html for an incredible story.
Sara
Southeast Vermont USA
Paper Crane, I will write 'peace' on your wings and you will fly all over the world.

Oh My!!!
That was an amazing story.
I was crying looking at the pictures - he/she is so sweet with all that grey down :) :)

Thanks Sara

I went and told Buddy what a beautiful baby he is, even though he's almost 3, he'll always be my baby :)

That's really neat, thanks for posting that link. I hope she keeps posting pictures as he grows... he's almost starting to look like a bird now. :-)

Nate Waddoups
Redmond WA USA

She's an amazing woman, who breeds out of love, not really profit. I asked her whether she would be able to give Moxie up after all that effort, and her answer was, not surprisingly, 'no.' Then she said it had been a while since she'd had a pet bird, and was looking forward to it. I can't wait for the DNA results to see if he really is a Moxie!
And Nate - what do you mean by 'almost' looking like a bird??? He's perfect and gorgeous! Barb - maybe guys in general just don't get how gorgeous these little pin-feathered critters really are!:o)
Sara
Southeast Vermont USA
Paper Crane, I will write 'peace' on your wings and you will fly all over the world.

Hello everyone. I have my first parrot, a little Senegal named Monkado. He is 9 weeks old. I am hand feeding him as well as giving him pellets with bits of fruit and veggies. I have always wanted a parrot but until now did not have the time or a safe enough home for one. I worked for Helping Hands Monkey Helpers for the Disabled for years running their foster family program and caring for numerous monkeys with diet and behavioral problems. Since the last of the monkeys we raised went into training in Sept. I decided it was a good time to fall in love with a parrot. I've been reading up on Parrots and I'm thinking they are very similar to capuchin monkeys. Obviously there are differences but the training, socialization, need for the right diet, etc. are similar. Ok, now my question.......what are your feelings on using Flightsuits? Pro and Con. I would really like to hear opinions and experiences with them. Thanks a bunch and it's great to be here.

Doreen aka:Creativemonkey
http://www.picturetrail.com/creativemonkey

I want a red bellied parrot really really bad, but, on another forum, I was reading an article about the downside to owning quakers...it was discussing how every breeder site or general information sight you find raves about its birds...how great they are, how tame and sweet and loving they are..but they rarely mention the downside to purchasing said bird...you know, what problems you may encounter and whatnot, but since no one on that forum that I could find owned a red bellied parrot, I couldnt get an answer to my question...what about the red bellies? do they have any behavioral issues that I should know about...I know they have fear stage(s) that they go through, but I mean like quakers..do they have territorial issues, biting issues, things like that? any info would be very helpful...
thanx, pix

Awesome story....thank you for sharing.
We have handfed for 30 yrs, every thing from a Diamond Dove feeding every 45 mins 24/7, Java Finch, to a African Grey Camaroon,Eclectus and No 1 knows better then parrot breeders of what time and dedication it takes to care for such a tiny lil animal , congrats! its always a joy to read such a nice story of 1 Baby's tough journey into the world.
He didn't have a chance in life without the love of 1 determined woman...Well Done............... Parrotlady