Having a beautiful and exotic pet bird can brighten even the dimmest of days. They are beautiful creatures and should be taken care of correctly instead of thinking of them more as a hobby inside your home. They deserve all of the love, attention, and respect of those who get them. You find yourself wanting to know more about less-known bird species and what kind you can get for yourself.

Taking a unique bird species into your home is a tough choice and should be taken as such. In this article, we will be discussing quite a few rare bird species and all of what is fascinating about them. We hope you enjoy what we are about to share and receive enlightenment on which creature you wish to have in your home!

What Are the Less-Known Pet Bird Species?

Bird TypeLifespanPriceAlexandrine Parakeet25 to 30 years$500-1500Rose-Breasted Cockatoo40 years$700-3000Senegal Parrot50 years$200-500Red-Breasted Parakeet25 years$250-1000Eclectus Parrot30 years$1000-3000

1. Alexandrine Parakeet

• Features

Coming into the list as one of the largest parakeets, it measures in at roughly 23 inches from the tip of its dazzling tail to its bright beak and weighs an average of 9 ounces. This bird is usually green with a hint of bluish-grey tint on its nape and around its cheeks and commonly features a yellow or green stomach with small red patches along the shoulders and a significant beak match.

• Lifespan & Price:

These exquisite birds typically live anywhere between 25 to 30 years, and respectable breeders usually cost anywhere from $500 to $1500.

• Personality:

As a breed, the Alexandrine generally is very affectionate and friendly and can learn to speak like most parakeets, but this quirk can have its downsides. They can easily choose a favorite person they associate with and becoming extremely territorial in other situations, right along with being far too loud to have in an apartment.

• Diet:

The Alexandrine’s diet should consist of fresh greens, tree nuts, grains, certain healthy seeds, and commercially made pellets. This particular bird also requires roughly 3 to 4 hours a day to get adequate exercise and should be watched because they tend to get into mischief when left to their own devices.

2. Rose-Breasted Cockatoo

• Features:

Next up, we have the Rose-Breasted Cockatoo. You might have suspected by its name, but this little beauty sports a red hue with grey wings and a bit of silver to grey upon the top of its head. The bird is most notable that you will find the distinction between the sexes in their eyes. The males typically have very dark, nearly black irises, while the females have semi-brown to red irises.

• Lifespan & Price:

These birds boast a lifespan of 40 years on average and are anywhere from 12-14 inches in length and roughly 11 ounces in weight. The Rose-Breasted Cockatoo can cost between $700 to $3,000, so be prepared to spend quite a bit depending on the pigmentation and reputation of the breeder.

• Personality:

Like other intelligent birds, this one can also learn to speak, perform tricks, and generally be a fantastic companion. One of the downsides of this particular bird would be its noise level. The down it produces can aggravate specific allergies, and it absolutely must have chew-friendly toys.

• Diet:

A Rose-Breasted Cockatoos diet primarily consists of your standard high-quality pellets, fruits, and vegetables. It also requires 4 hours of exercise time to remain in good shape, and despite its size, it should have a relatively large cage of about 5 square feet.

3. Senegal Parrot

• Features:

A welcomed routine to the parrot family, the Senegal parrot’s primary defining features are its overall green-tinged vest, which is slightly longer in females, and yellowish-green undertail in males, and green in females.

Both the male and female typically have grey heads and sport dazzling yellow-green eyes. They are usually 9 inches long and can weigh anywhere between 4.5 to 6 ounces in terms of size.

• Lifespan & Price:

Their average lifespan in captivity is dramatically longer than left to their own devices in the wild, coming in at 50 years. The males of this species are typically heavier and more significant than the females, but occasionally the opposite is true.

Unlike the previous entries, this spectacular bird can be bought as low as $200 and topped out at $500. This makes it the cheapest on the list.

• Personality:

Senegal is generally speaking an amiable bird and loves getting attention and being held. It can learn to say a few words and is considered relatively quiet, so it’s a safe pick for apartment owners.

Some of its downsides include needing constant stimulation and attention and, more often than not, being one-person birds. Senegal’s only requires about an hour of exercise time with suitable toys, like chewable leather, bells, bells, and other such things.

• Diet:

As for its diet, it will thrive on fresh fruits and veggies with healthy varieties of seeds, fruit, and blossoms, they require a healthy mix of these to remain active, and it is a must to avoid all seed diets as they can be dangerous to the bird’s health.

4. Red-Breasted Parakeet (Also Known as the Mustached Parakeet)

• Features:

Changing the pace a bit, we have the Red-Breasted Parakeet making its debut on the list, and with grand style, no less! This wondrous creature is predominately green like most parakeets but has a beautiful splash of red running across its chest, stopping just short of its legs.

Many Red-Breasted Parakeet’s feature black markings on either side of their beaks with unique little black masks running between their eyes. Their heads are often a light gray color with hints of yellow sprinkled directly in the middle of their wings.

• Lifespan & Price:

Size-wise, they are usually 14 inches long, weigh about 5.2 oz, and have a lifespan of about 25 years. They ring in at a very low $250 up to $1,000 depending on the breeder in terms of price.

• Personality:

These little guys are, by and large, extremely active and, due to this, require a wide array of toys to keep them from tearing up your home; they are brilliant birds and fantastic at speaking and mimicking sounds.

Despite their ability to speak, they are often reticent and suitable for apartment owners. Some of their downsides include being single-person birds and being very aggressive during their younger ages, so they aren’t exactly kid-friendly.

• Diet:

A well-balanced diet of fruits and veggies with high-quality pellet formula is the standard; although it’s worth mentioning avocados are toxic to them, so avoid feeding them to the bird at all costs.

5. Eclectus Parrot

• Features:

Here is a parrot with quite a bit of colorful flair, especially coming from the females of the species. The Eclectus parrot is unique in that the genders of the bird define its colors to a striking effect. The males are a lush green with yellow-orangish tinges on the undersides of the tail and with bright orange feathers on the bottom of the wings.

One of the most defining features of the females would be that they are bright red, with a very distinct darkened hue on their back and wings, usually leaning towards a purple-bluish color and a jet black beak.

• Lifespan & Price:

The Eclectus parrot is usually about 13 inches long, and adults weigh in at 16 oz, with a lifespan sitting at 30 years, so they will be keeping you company for quite a while. In terms of price, they come at a range of $1000 to $3000.

• Personality:

They are intelligent birds that are as affectionate as you can get in terms of avian standards and are much quieter than most other talking species. Due to this peaceful nature, they tend not to like loud environments or constantly chaotic settings.

It’s worth noting these birds need large cages to be healthy and happy and will suffer immensely if not accommodate. As you might guess, with the need for a large cage, they need to have at least an hour of exercise time in a total flight environment, with a lot of fun toys and perches to keep them happy and healthy.

• Diet:

Their diet varies a bit from most other birds in that it mixes in some significant carbohydrates into their digestive needs. So your stand fruits, veggies, and grains, with a bit of cooked pasta, will do them wonders.

Nutritionally speaking, they need a high fiber, low-fat diet, so avoiding excessive amounts of vitamins and mineral supplements is essential to this bird’s survival. Please take note of things that may have been tossed into their feed, like artificial preservatives, dyes, and flavorings, as this could cause your new friend to lose its exotic coloring, or worse, be dangerous to the bird in general.

Conclusion

Overall, these are beautiful animals you can acquire at either a relatively reasonable or more expensive price. Birds, in general, are fantastic and exotic creatures that need to be taken care of properly, so please make sure to do all of the research you can to figure out what specific needs they will need. Keeping that in mind, we wish you the best of luck in finding a wonderful animal to keep you company for many years to come!