This is the pet.  His name is 'Noddy', which is self explanatory if you meet him, and he is a Blue and Gold Macaw.  We got him about 4 years ago, he was 8 then and they can live for 80 + years, so he'll probably still be around when we've gone.

These types of parrotts are not the prolific talkers some people think, he does talk, but it is all basic stuff.  He picks up a lot of the whistles you do, and normally greets us with one and a 'Hello'.

They can be worse than children for attention seeking, which is why you see so many toys in and around their cages.  You have to give them something to do, or they will become bored and start to pull their feathers out.
Feeding him is easy, he'll eat anything, but he can't have it.  Some fruits have stones in them that are poisonous to him, in the wild they eat clay to counteract it, but there isn't anything like that for captive bred birds.  Chocolate is a big no no for him, it can kill him in some circumstances, so he's dipped out on that one.

The majority of nuts are ok, walnuts, pecans, hazel, almonds etc.  Plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, but not mushrooms-they're toxic.

He loves chicken tikka, pasta, roast chicken, yoghut and cereals.  Apart from water, he's quiet partial to tea & Coffe (in small doses), milk and fresh orange juice
These birds are brilliant when your re-decorating, they love ripping up paper, and if it's on your walls that's even better.  Be wary if you have wood in the house as well, they will chew it to pieces.

The larger parrots can cost a lot more than your average pet.  Depending on the breed, they can cost from �600 for an African grey, up to, and in excess of �9.000 for a Hyacinth Macaw.

You can buy smaller members of the parrot family, like Budgies, Conures, Parakeets and Lovebirds.  These are also easier to find someone to look after, the larger birds can be very intimidating to strangers, so the bird sitter  needs to know what they are doing.
You can't go into owning one of these birds lightly, especially the bigger ones.  You have to commit a lot of time to them, but in return you will get as much love from your bird as you give it.

Here's a few websites for anyone interested:

World Parrot Trust
Parrot-Link UK
Parrot Talk
The Blue Macaws
Safe Food for Parrots
The Aviary
Passion for Parrots
The Online Book of Parrots
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