There are many things you need to know about caring for your feathered family member. The information collected here is intended to assist you in learning skills that will help enhance the health and well-being of your bird. While some of the topics, such as socialization, are parrot related, other areas also apply to softbills (such as canaries, finches, and doves) as well as to parrots. While a bird will add joy to your life, there are also other things you should know before committing to this responsibility.

Pet birds can live a long life, with some species living 90-plus years.

Keeping this in mind, are you prepared to:

• clean the bird's cage regularly?
• socialize with him or her at least for a couple of hours each day?
• take the bird to the veterinarian should he or she become ill?
• accept that birds can become loud and demanding at times?
• make arrangements for someone to care for your bird in your absence?

If you can honestly answer yes to the above questions, then adopting a bird as a companion may be perhaps one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.