| Lineolated Parakeets: A Much Overlooked Parrot |
My first introduction to Lineolated Parakeets, or "Linnies" came when I was looking at a classified listing online. There was a picture of this cute little green guy and to my surprise, the owner was local to me. I called the number and talked with the lady, who filled me in on all the particulars of these interesting little birds. For those of you who aren't familiar with Linnies, they are about the same size as a lovebird, but that's where the similarity ends. This lady was moving to Texas where green Linnies were illegal due to the smuggling of their wild relatives from Mexico(where they are native). She was selling Twig reluctantly and I soon found out why she loved him so much. His gentle nature and huge personality is remarkable, you can't help but warm up to a bird like him. You can handle him with your hand around him and he actually seems to like it, makes him feel safe and cozy I guess. You can hold him and trim his wings and toe nails easily and never even a nip.
Linnies are for the most part very quiet birds. Their calls are not offensive in the least. A cockatiel is much louder! They are pretty active birds running from perch to perch and hanging upside down looking at the world around them so a larger cage is better. They are not toy destroyers like their larger relatives, so you don't have to spend a lot of your hard earned money replacing them. They also seem to love their Happy Huts or similar items and sleep there each night, peeking out if someone comes into the room. They also love their showers! When you mist a Linnie, it is common for them to hang upside down holding their wings open so you can drench every feather.
As I said before, the original color is mostly green, but as with so many other species of parrots, there are now many mutations being bred. You can find Linnies in several colors of blue, green, lutino, aqua and creamino.
When I picked Twig up, I was told of the words he said, but as time went by I began to doubt that he spoke one word. That is until my mother dropped by one day. Twig stepped up on her finger and almost at once began to talk up a storm! It became clear that he was used to being around a woman and felt right at home with them. The woman where I bought him showered him with a lot of attention and he responded to a woman's voice very well.
Nowdays, Twig has fallen in love with my girlfriend and questions "where's Judi?" all the time when he hears her voice. He will go nuts for her attention and the feeling is quite mutual. He has added to his vocabulary as well, laughing on cue along with her.
Until quite recently, Lineolated Parakeets have been largely overlooked by the pet trade and I have no idea why. In my opinion they are a very good pet. They are quiet, so apartment dwellers can own them with little chance of complaints from neighbors. They are clownish in their behaviour and provide endless entertainment and they respond to attention from their owners very well. They are small enough as to not pose any threat(as some other parrots can do) if you let them ride on your shoulder around the house. In my experience, their attitude seems to be quite consistant so they don't need constant behavioural corrections either. They are quite simply one of the best parrots to own, as well as a great choice for kids.
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