Your neighbors are very strict about noise, or maybe it’s your roommates who get up in arms over a loud pet. You’ve wanted to adopt a bird, but one without all the cheeping and screeching. Which bird should you consider?
What are the quietest pet birds? These are the quietest pet birds:
- Pacific parrotlet
- Senegal parrot
- Canary
- Bourke’s parakeet
- Finch
- Pionus parrot
- Cockatiel
Although there’s no such thing as a 100 percent quiet bird, the following feathered friends vocalize less so you can live harmoniously with roommates or neighbors. Keep reading to learn more about these birds and their care!
Want a Bird but Have Roommates? Try These 7 Quiet Pet Birds
Pacific Parrotlet
Although sometimes small animals can produce big noises, that won’t be the case with the Pacific parrotlet.
This tiny bird wants to be your friend but won’t make a lot of noise in its quest for companionship. Pacific parrolets can mimic our speech, learning a few words at a time, but not to the extent of full-sized parrots.
Here’s some more information on the Pacific parrotlet. Hailing from South America, these birds grow between 4.3 and 5.5 inches on average and weigh no more than 30 grams.
They’re typically green with some gray and a pink beak.
You have your pick among all sorts of Pacific parrotlet variations, some of which include the Blue Marbled, American Yellow Marbled, Turquoise Fallow, and Green Fallow.
The Pacific parrotlet is a playful bird and prefers to have boings and toys they can shred.
Their diet should consist of pellets with some birdseed as well as cuttlebone for calcium and small chunks of veggies and fruits.
This bird loves to eat veggies such as green beans, celery, peas, carrots, and corn. Its favorite fruits are kiwi, pomegranates, apples, pears, oranges, and bananas.
Senegal Parrot
Although you probably think you have to steer away from parrots if you want a quiet bird, that’s not entirely true. The Senegal parrot will cluck and whistle rather than scream so your neighbors don’t have to come banging on your door.
This parrot can also talk, and more expertly than Pacific parrotlets. If you spend time teaching your Senegal parrot vocab, it can learn words by the dozen.
The average size of one of these birds is 9.1 inches long, and their weight maxes out between 4.2 and 6 ounces.
The Senegal parrot’s body features a smattering of colors, including yellow on the chest and rear, green on the chest and wings, and gray for the beak and head.
This South African bird is an amiable creature that creates a close bond with its owner. This bond can last a long time considering the Senegal parrot’s average lifespan is 30 years.
Please give your bird lots of love, as it’s sensitive to rejection.
Since Senegal parrots will eat practically anything and everything you offer them, you must exercise moderation. These birds can become overweight easily through overfeeding. The best diet is one with daily pellets and some veggies and fruit for supplementation.
Senegal parrots love to play, and their favorites are rope toys, acrylic toys, and wooden block toys.
Canary
Domestic canaries might be songbirds, but they’re not born with an innate ability to sing well.
If you put the time into training them (or if a breeder does before you adopt the bird), then your canary will be a regular Sinatra. Otherwise, it should be mostly quiet.
Even if your canary is an excellent singer, I don’t think any roommate or neighbor would mind that much!
The domestic canary is available in all sorts of varieties. Most are yellow, but color-breeding canaries can ensure hues such as green, red, brown, or white. The average size of a domestic canary is 3 to 4 inches.
Fun fact: the Canary Islands in Spain are not named after the canary, but rather, the canary is named after the islands.
Living for about 14 years on average, canaries require a cage all to themselves to prevent infighting with other canaries. Their cage should be 18 inches tall by 14 inches deep and 18 inches wide with 3/8-inch bars. Provide several perches about 3 inches long apiece.
Keep their diet full of pellets, which should be up to 70 percent of this bird’s food intake. Some seed is appropriate as are fresh fruits and vegetables.
Bourke’s Parakeet
Bourke’s parrot or parakeet got its name from General Sir Richard Bourke, the New South Wales Governor between 1831 and 1837.
They talk mostly in chirps, typically right after the sun rises and sets, yet their noise levels are not excessive.
The average size of a Bourke’s parakeet is 7.1 to 9.1 inches. This bird has a unique coloring that isn’t the most vivid but is still quite pretty. The base colors are mostly dusty brown or gray with some blue and pink thrown in for good measure.
Each day, commit to spending several hours with your parakeet. Whether you talk to the bird or train them is up to you, but this is a more social species.
They also love bathing, so change out their water bowl daily. You can put a Bourke’s parakeet in a cage on its own, but that cage should be 1 ½ feet high, 1 ½ feet wide, and 3 feet long.
Feed your Bourke’s parakeet parrot seed (no more than a tablespoon) and some supplementary fruits and veggies, the fresher, the better.
Finch
Tiny and cute, domestic finches are another quiet bird to consider so you can coexist with your roommates.
They make small peeping sounds rather than sharp, shrill screams. If living with other finches, yours might vocalize a lot to communicate. A single finch will be quieter.
Although finches encompass hundreds of different species, the version kept most often as pets is part of the Estrildidae family. Most of these birds hail from Australasia.
The colors of finches vary depending on the species. Zebra finches feature bright red beaks, orange cheeks, and colorful patterns in hues like gray and brown.
Owl finches mimic that larger nocturnal bird with their patterns and colors. Gouldian finches are especially appealing since they embody all the colors of the rainbow.
Finches are not cuddly birds, so if you like bonding with your pet, this isn’t the one for you. With another bird in its cage though, the finch will get along just fine.
Like many of the birds I’ve discussed, finches eat mostly pellets. Feel free to give them moderate quantities of seed, grubs, and green vegetables.
Provide a wide, spacious cage, as finches aren’t known for flying outside of their enclosure.
Pionus Parrot
Do you prefer your home to be quiet? Then a Pionus parrot is your ideal companion bird.
These birds will only be as noisy as their environment, which is a trait common of parrots. Thus, if your apartment is hectic with several roommates coming and going, rethink getting this bird.
The Pionus is native to South and Central America as well as parts of Mexico. The most common species adopted as pets are the White-Capped, Maximillian, and the Blue-Headed Pionus.
The latter is especially impressive with its vivid blue head, orange-tinted beak, and green body.
The average size of a Pionus parrot is 10 to 11 inches tall, although the Maximillian can grow 12 inches long. These birds can live for up to 30 years.
The Pionus parrot has been accused of being standoffish, but many people who adopt these birds say the Pionus is quite sweet. You will have to put time and care into your bird to shape its personality.
Here’s an interesting fact: the Pionus parrot can release an odor that smells something like sweet or musky depending on who you ask. If you’re sensitive to smells, you might find this odor unappealing, but others like it.
This bird needs a diet of pellets every day as well as fruit such as guavas. Do not feed your Pionus parrot fatty foods, as you could cause health issues for the bird.
Cockatiel
The sounds of a cockatiel range from chirping to whistling, but their volume is naturally quieter than birds such as the parrot.
Males vocalize more, so if you want a quieter cockatiel, adopt a female bird.
This Australian native can reach lengths of up to 14 inches in adulthood, weighing 4.2 ounces at that size. They also live for 20 years.
The colors of cockatiels range from yellow to white and gray, and sometimes several colors in one bird.
If you want to know what your cockatiel is thinking or feeling, look at its crest. If the feathers here are fluffy or relaxed, then your cockatiel is in a good mood. If the feathers are flat and held near its head, then you’ve upset your cockatiel and it’s feeling defensive.
Cockatiels like being around people and they don’t mind being handled, so feel free to give your bird affectionate pets.
You can put a mirror in your cockatiel’s cage and it will admire itself and even whistle if it’s looking good. This bird also likes a lot of different toys, including beads and hard toys, wood and cardboard, and paper toys.
Its cage needs to be large enough to accommodate all this stuff as well as provide room for a cockatiel’s full wingspan. They also will spend time at the cage bottom looking for dropped food.
What do cockatiels eat? Their diet comprises mostly pellets as well as birdseed and vegetables.
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