Center for Avian Rehabilitation & Education

What is Jill saying to her owner? Maybe she's telling him what fantastic companions cockatiels can be!

Jill and her mate, Jack, were surrendered to CARE a few months ago. They were a former breeding pair, and the breeder was going out of business due to allergies.

As a rescue, we do not place birds into situations where they might be bred, and when someone is looking to add another of the same type of bird to their flock, we work with them to find a same sex companion.

However, this situation was different. These birds were so incredibly bonded to each other. If they get more than 2 feet apart from each other, they start frantically chirping.

We found the perfect home for them, where they can get as little or as much human companionship as they want (and for ex-breeder birds, they really like humans!) where they are free to play with toys and will never reproduce again.

Cockatiels are really amazing birds. One of our boarders can whistle the entire Andy Griffith theme song. They can be taught tricks, and are basically a big parrot personality packed into a tiny body!

Unfortunately, they are often considered to be throwaway pets because of their relatively small price tag and their small body size. Or they are a starter parrot, and people trade them in for a larger bird down the road.

During the first six months of 2007, we had 46 cockatiels surrendered to us -- more than any other type of parrot. We currently have some very nice cockatiels up for adoption, if anyone is thinking of adding to their flock.