PetMall Encyclopedia
Browse published birds breed profiles curated by the PetMall editorial desk.
33 breeds available
The African Grey Parrot is legendary for its unmatched cognitive intelligence and talking ability. Due to their extreme sensitivity, long lifespan, and high care requirements, they require advanced owners.
The Alexandrine Parakeet is a large, striking parrot known for its gentle nature, intelligence, and excellent talking ability. They require spacious housing and plenty of enrichment.
Highly intelligent and visually spectacular, the Blue and Gold Macaw is a massive parrot requiring a 50-60+ year commitment. They demand extensive space, daily interaction, and specialized avian vet care.
The Blue-fronted Amazon is a medium-sized green parrot from South America, marked by blue across the forehead and yellow on the crown and cheeks, and it suits experienced keepers rather than first-time bird owners. Outgoing, playful and often boisterous, it is an accomplished talker that can repeat…
Bourke's Parakeet is a small, softly coloured parrot from inland Australia, rosy pink below with a grey-brown back and blue in the wings, and it is one of the gentler options for a first-time bird owner. It is quiet by parakeet standards, offering melodic chirps rather than squawking, and it is…
The Budgerigar, or budgie, is a small long-tailed seed-eating parrot from Australia and one of the most widely kept companion birds in the world. It is lively, inquisitive and intensely social: budgies live in large flocks in the wild, so a single bird needs either a companion budgie or committed…
The Caique is a small, stocky South American parrot represented by two species, the Black-headed and the White-bellied, both bold, comical and relentlessly busy. Roughly 23 to 25 cm long and 150 to 170 grams, it carries a large personality in a compact frame and is better known for its hopping gait…
The Canary is a classic, low-maintenance pet bird famous for the beautiful, melodic song of the males. They are independent display birds that prefer singing and flying to being handled.
The Cockatiel is a crested Australian parrot and a member of the cockatoo family, kept for its friendly manner, its moderate voice and its readiness to bond with the people around it. Its movable crest doubles as a mood signal, rising when the bird is excited and flattening when it relaxes. The…
Cockatoo (Sulphur-crested) is a large bird originating from Australia. This animal has verified NZ restriction or pest context; check MPI, DOC, EPA, and local council rules before keeping, moving, breeding, selling, or sourcing one. Typical lifespan is 40-70 years.
Stunningly crimson and blue, the Crimson Rosella is an active Australian parrot popular in NZ. They are independent, require large flight aviaries, and are quieter than Eastern Rosellas.
The Diamond Dove is one of the world's smallest doves, a slender grey bird from the arid interior of Australia, named for the white, black-edged spots scattered across its wings. A red or orange eye-ring is its most recognisable feature, set against soft grey plumage, a white belly and a long…
Brightly coloured and active, the Eastern Rosella is an Australian parrot popular in NZ. While wild populations exist in Wellington, pets must be sourced from captive breeders and given ample flying space.
The Eclectus Parrot is a medium-sized parrot from the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and north-eastern Australia, and one of the few parrots whose sexes look entirely unalike: males are emerald green with an orange beak, females deep red and blue-purple with a black beak and a blue band across the…
The Galah Cockatoo, also called the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, is a medium-sized Australian parrot with rose-pink face and underparts, grey wings and back, and a short pink crest it raises and lowers at will. It is playful, inquisitive and often mischievous, given to hanging upside down and other…
Stunningly colourful and active, the Gouldian Finch is a beloved Australian grass finch popular in New Zealand aviaries. They require warmth, social companionship, and specialized seed diets.
The Green-cheeked Conure is a small South American parrot of about 24 to 26 cm, mostly green with a greyish-brown crown, a scaly-patterned chest, a red belly patch and a maroon tail. Its character is playful, mischievous and affectionate: a flock bird that bonds closely with its keeper, learns to…
Indian Ringneck Parakeet is a small bird originating from South Asia. This animal has verified NZ restriction or pest context; check MPI, DOC, EPA, and local council rules before keeping, moving, breeding, selling, or sourcing one. Typical lifespan is 25-30 years.
The Java Sparrow, also known as the Java Finch, is a beautiful, peaceful, and social finch. Best kept in pairs or aviaries, they are active, low-maintenance, and display striking colour varieties.
The Jenday Conure is a small, vivid parrot from north-eastern Brazil, orange-yellow over the head, neck and chest, deepening on the belly and set against a green back with blue-tipped flight feathers. Bold, curious and constantly on the move, it bonds hard with its people and can pick up a few…
Kakariki (Red-crowned Parakeet) is a small bird originating from New Zealand. This animal may require official NZ permission; verify MPI, DOC, EPA, and local council requirements before importing, buying, breeding, selling, or keeping one. Typical lifespan is 15-20 years.
The smallest quail in the world, the King Quail is a popular ground-dwelling aviary bird in NZ. They are peaceful, quiet, and act as excellent floor cleaners by eating dropped seeds.
The Little Corella is a medium-sized white parrot from the arid and semi-arid interior of Australia, measuring around 35-40 cm and weighing 400-600 grams. The plumage is largely white with a salmon-pink wash under the wings and tail, set off by a short erectile crest, a pale grey beak and a…
Lovebirds are small African parrots of the genus Agapornis, compact and stout-bodied with a short blunt tail and a large hooked beak. The peach-faced type, green with a rosy face, is the most familiar of the nine species, though blue, yellow and white mutations are also widely kept. They are…
The Pacific Parrotlet is one of the smallest parrots kept as a companion bird, at roughly 12-14 cm and 28-35 grams, which has earned it the nickname 'pocket parrot'. It comes from the arid and semi-arid country of western Ecuador and north-western Peru, and is mostly emerald green, with males…
The Peach-faced Lovebird is a small African parrot, green-bodied with a peach face and throat and a blue rump, known for being affectionate, curious and far livelier than its size suggests. Hand-reared and consistently socialised birds often become very tame, perching on a shoulder or tucking into…
The Pionus Parrot is a stocky medium-sized parrot from Central and South America, roughly 23 to 30 cm long, green overall but washed with blue, purple and bronze, with bright red undertail coverts and a bare ring of skin around the eye. Excitement or stress darkens a blue-grey patch on the chin, an…
The Plum-headed Parakeet is a slender South Asian parrot of about 33 cm including its long tail, and one of the easiest species to sex by eye: males carry a plum-red head shading to bluish-purple behind a black collar, while females show a muted greyish-blue head and no collar. Both sexes are…
The Red-rumped Parakeet is a slim Australian parrot of roughly 27 cm including tail, native to open woodland and grassland where it forages on the ground for seeds and grasses. The sexes look different: males are emerald green with a blue-green head, yellow underparts and the brick-red rump that…
The Society Finch, also called the Bengalese Finch, is a fully domesticated bird that exists only in captivity, bred selectively in Japan and China from Asian munia stock. At 10 to 12 cm it is compact, and its voice runs to soft chirps and gentle trills rather than squawks, making it an easy bird…
The Sun Conure is a stunningly colourful, highly affectionate medium-sized parrot. Famous for its playful personality, it is also known for being exceptionally loud, making it unsuitable for apartments.
The Turquoisine Parakeet is a small Australian parakeet of about 20 to 23 cm, and one of the more peaceable species a first-time bird keeper can start with. Males carry a turquoise-blue face, a red shoulder patch and a yellow belly over a green back and wings; females are duller, with weaker blue…
The Zebra Finch is a small, gregarious Australian grassland bird kept for watching rather than handling: active, softly vocal, and happiest in a pair or small group. Males carry the markings the name refers to, with black and white barring across the throat and chest, orange cheek patches, chestnut…