Bird Talk Flyby

I walked into this internship with Bird Talk Magazine on Monday thinking, "Gee, I don’t know a whole lot about birds." Yet, here I am, about done with my first week, already thinking about what kind of bird I want to get in the somewhat near but far future.

I’m not a complete stranger to birds. When I was younger my family had two budgies and a cockatiel. I loved to go and learn about all the wild birds at the Bird Show at Marine World Africa, USA in Vallejo, California. Also, a good friend of mine, while I was in college, had quite a few feathered friends. I learned a lot about birds through her experiences and when I spent time at her house, I got to see first hand just how much personality each of them had.

That, however, does not make me any wiser about birds, about how to take care of birds, and how to go about picking the right one for me.

My first thought was that I couldn’t possibly have a bird because of my cat. But after talking to my sister about it and reading about what other pets some bird owners also have, I think that it’s a possibility…if I’m smart and careful about it.

I’ve been doing a lot of researching and cramming information about different birds through my work of preparing bird species profiles on the upcoming website. From what I’ve learned, I think that a smaller bird would be ideal for me. I’ve talked it over with my sister, the boyfriend, and I even tried to talk to my cat about the possibility of getting a bird. The humans listened and the cat ignored me while I listed reasons why I thought a smaller bird would be a good idea. I got some positive opinions in response.

I have been reading, a lot, about the different personalities of the different birds. Based on my own personality, I’ve decided that I’d like to explore the options of getting a pair of love birds or depending on where I end up at the beginning of next year, a parrotlet. I’ve also decided that I still have quite a bit of learning to do before I take that plunge into bird ownership.

But hey, everyone has to start off somewhere, right? Plus, I'm surrounded by the right people if I have any questions about my quest of bringing home a pet bird. There's no way that I could stray too far.

- Crystal