One of our clients, Exotic Pet Birds, is featuring parrot and bird info on their website. As a service to their site, we will be posting their features on our blog.
This next feature will be on the Caique Parrot:
2 sub-species:
Black-headed Parrot (Pionites melanocephalus)
White-bellied Parrot (Pionites leucogaster)
Distribution in the wild: Amazon Basin in South America, with the Black-headed north of the Amazon River, and the White-bellied south of the river. They generally prefer forested areas and subsist on fruit and seeds. Caiques are generally canopy dwellers, spending most of their time in the tops of trees, foraging and playing. They are highly vocal and typically seen in pairs or small groups.
Caique wing feathers produce a distinctive whirring sound in flight.
Caiques as pets: Caiques are growing in popularity in the pet world, the commonly found species being the Black-headed Caique since it was introduced first in captivity, but the White-bellied Caique’s popularity is growing rapidly as well. Caiques bond well with humans and have a reputation as playful and energetic birds that enjoy playing with toys and lying on their backs. They are not particularly good flyers, becoming tired and winded after only a short distance. They also tend to be clumsy and slow in the air as compared to other birds. they often prefer to walk, jump, climb, or hop as a mode of transportation. They are excellent climbers, with very strong feet and legs. Their behavior has been said to be most comparable to lories and lorikeets.
The two species of Caique also exhibit a unique behavior known as “surfing” where the bird will enter a trancelike state and vigorously rub it’s face, wings and chest against any nearby soft item (e.g. carpets, towels, cushions, crumpled paper, curtains or human hair) whilst using its beak to pull itself along. During this, the bird will display frenzied, jerky, spasmodic, seizure-like movements and may roll over several times, in a similar manner to a cat that is high on catnip. The purpose of this behavior is unknown and occurs regardless of age or sex. It would however appear to be a pleasurable experience for the bird.
Compared with the volume of larger parrots, Caiques are fairly quite if trained properly. They have a peculiar call which has been compared to a smoke alarm, used for warning and for making contact with the flock members who are out of visual range. This call is a high, piercing, and loud enough to alert flock members across the jungle or neighboring apartment dwellers. They are extremely active, prefer lots of physical interaction and playtime, and are prolific chewers. They can be distrustful of or aggressive toward other species of parrot, so prospective buyers should be careful if they have or plan to have other types of parrots. They can also be highly demanding of human attention, and stubborn, not easily distracted from stealing eyeglasses or chewing unapproved items even when tempted with favorite treats and toys.
Caiques are poor imitators of human speech, and their appeal as a pet lies in their playfulness, not their speaking ability. Some individuals can learn to mimic words, and will speak in a soft and gravelly voice. Many caiques easily learn to whistle and some birds enjoy developing a large repertoire which they creatively recombine to come up with new calls and short tunes. They also enjoy learning environmental sounds such as telephone rings and microwave beeps.
Caiques also possess a particular odor. the smell of a particular individual depends on genetics, emotional state, grooming and diet. some birds smell more strongly than others, and the scent can be described as a dry, cardboard-like smell. Happy caiques on a healthy diet that includes flax seeds or another source of high quality seed oil often smell slightly sweet. Prospective buyers should interact with a bird before buying it, as all pet buyers should, to see weather they find the smell unpleasant.
As parrots go, Caiques are somewhat “difficult” birds and inexperienced parrot owners should be ready to learn the bird’s moods well. Although they can make great companion parrots for the right person, due to their extremely engaging and funny personalities, some individuals can be very hot-tempered. Caiques ordinarily respond well to homes in which some time is devoted to playing with them each day, and like all pet birds, they need to be kept in a bird-safe environment.
As with most parrots, males and females either species of Caiques look exactly the same. the only ways to determine sex are surgical sexing and DNA sexing. DNA sexing is safer for the bird than surgical sexing.
When kept as companions you’ll need to make sure that they have a well balanced consisting of fresh veggies and fruit, a good pelleted blend, pastas, sprouts, and a high quality nut seed and grain mix. Proper cage size is very important with these birds because of their activity level. The minimun requirement would be a 26×22 with a 30×22 being about perfect.
As with any pet please educate yourself before buying. This a life long commitment on your part and should not be taken lightly.
STOP WILD TRAPPING NOW!!!
For more information about birds and parrots for sale, go to MRParrots.com.
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