PH> Too many birds!!!! Well, the books have helped me eliminate some
 PH> species. At the moment I am leaning towards an African Grey or one
 PH> of the smaller Cockatoos, if I do spring for a bird.
        I can tell you about African Greys, since i have one. They
      are extremely bright, but also very shy. They do not care for
      changes in the cage, the household or their food. But if you're
      patient and calm you can work around that. Mine is not very
      "cuddly" and i understand that most of them are that way. But
      he talks superbly (even to getting the person's voice exactly),
      you can't tell his speaking from the real person. He seldoms
      screams; most of his "noise" is talking, singing, or whistling.
      But it's not constant either; he has long quiet periods where
      he dozes and just looks at the world and thinks deep thoughts. :>
      He does do some chewing on things, but not as much as other
      species. The only thing about him i would change is for him to
      let me "cuddle" him more. He likes head scratches but that's
      about it.
 PH> I did see a lot of books being advertised in Bird Talk, and am looking
 PH> at cage sizes and prices and etc. Still lots of reading and thinking
 PH> to do yet, but I'm getting there!
        It's a big decision... parrots live as long as us with good
        care, so it's wise of you to give it a lot of thought. Nice
        talking with you!
            Sue
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