There is no single best pet bird — the right one depends entirely on what you want from it and how much time you can give. Here is how to match a bird to your life.
Best all-round beginner bird
For most people, the budgie is the best starting point: small, affordable, social, hardy and capable of learning words. A cockatiel is the next step up — a little bigger, very affectionate and a great whistler. Both are forgiving of first-time mistakes.
Best for talking or intelligence
If you dream of a talking bird, the African grey is famous for its speech and intelligence, and some Amazon parrots and even budgies talk well too — but greys and amazons are demanding, long-lived and best for experienced owners. Talking ability is never guaranteed in any bird.
Best low-maintenance or quiet birds
If you want birds mainly to enjoy from a distance, canaries and finches are low-maintenance and undemanding. For a quieter home, canaries, finches, budgies and cockatiels are calmer than louder parrots like conures, cockatoos and macaws, which can be very noisy.