Parrot Families
Parrot Families
Nine families. Honest, hands-on guidance on every species I work with.
Parrots Are a Lifetime Commitment
I’m Kalyn, and over the years I’ve placed hundreds of parrots into West Palm Beach homes: from pocket-sized parrotlets to imposing African Greys. This guide is the working knowledge I’ve built across thirty-odd years of genuinely keeping these birds, written honestly so you can decide which parrot fits your life before you fall in love with one that doesn’t.
Every species page on this site is the real article: temperament, vocalization, diet, health, housing, the honest cautions, and the questions buyers actually ask me. Browse by family below and find the bird that matches your home, your tolerance for noise, and your willingness to commit to a 20-, 40-, or 60-year companion.
Nine Families, Catalogued Honestly
Cacatuidae
Cockatoos
19 species cataloged
Affectionate, demanding, and extraordinarily loud: cockatoos bond harder than almost any other parrot family. For the right home, that’s everything.
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Arini
Macaws
16 species cataloged
Mini macaws at 165 grams up to Hyacinths at 1.5 kilos. Loud, intelligent, decades-long companions for households with the space and the patience.
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Amazona
Amazons
10 species cataloged
The opera singers of aviculture: bold personalities, exceptional speech, and a hormonal phase that catches new owners off guard every time.
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Pyrrhura & Aratinga
Conures
12 species cataloged
From the quiet Pyrrhura group (apartment-friendly) to the louder Aratinga conures: clownish, cuddly, and more personality per gram than almost anything else.
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The Long-Tailed Parrots
Parakeets
9 species cataloged
Cockatiels, Budgies, Ringnecks, Alexandrines, Quakers: some of the best first-parrot options in aviculture, and some of the most underestimated.
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Poicephalus & Psittacus
African Parrots
8 species cataloged
Steady, observant, and gifted. The Greys are the most accomplished talking parrots in aviculture; the Poicephalus group rewards patient keepers.
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Agapornis
Lovebirds
4 species cataloged
Tiny, fierce, and deeply bonded. Far more demanding than their size suggests: not beginner birds, but extraordinary companions for the right keeper.
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Every page on this site is written to help you make a good decision rather than to make a sale. If a species genuinely isn’t right for your household, I will tell you so, both on the page and in person.
Kalyn Bastion, Parrot Bliss
How to use this guide
Start with Your Living Situation
If you have a species in mind, jump straight to its profile from the family page. If you’re earlier in the process, start with the family that fits your living situation: cockatoos and macaws need detached homes with forgiving neighbors; conures and parakeets are the most apartment-friendly; lovebirds and the smaller Pyrrhura conures sit somewhere in between.
The species that tend to end up in rescue are the ones placed by people who fell in love with the bird before they understood the bird. Read the cautions on every page. They’re not there to put you off; they’re there so the placement works for thirty years.
Looking for a Hand-Raised Bird?
Parrot Bliss hand-raises a small number of parrots each year in West Palm Beach, Florida. Every chick fed by Kalyn personally, weaned onto Harrison’s pellets, and placed only with families who genuinely understand what they’re taking on.