Abstract
Amongst the Australian parakeets,
the Princess of Wales and the Rock
Pebbler have a reputation for peaceful
personality and trust of humans
which has allowed them to carve out
a distinctive niche in the American
pet market.
Even in the wild where especially
the Princess can be elusive and difficult
to spot, reports confirm that
these species may indulge in entertaining
antics only a stone's throw
from human workers or campsites.
As captive-reared, hand-fed babies;
these long-tailed clowns can be considered
"sleepers" in the pet trade.
They are attractive, quiet, nondestructive
and non-aggressive additions
to any home or aviary; and in
fact may become avian companions
to single cockatiels, budgies, pyrrhura
conures or gentle, small parrots.
There is a growing trend in the pet
bird trade across the U.S. these days.
It is a move toward keeping hand-fed
psittacines in full-flight natural environments
in the home-be it an aviary,
bird room, greenhouse or outdoor
summer walk-in cage. Many times the
choice of avian species for these
environments are those hookbills
which acquire an independent attitude
after weaning and demand little
hands-on affection from their
owners. They are often kept in unrelated
pairs and may breed, literally,
in full view of their keepers.
As these parrots do not fit any of
the "cuddle-bunny" categories, they
allow the pet owner freedom from
responsibility for providing full
touch and petting input for the bird
and freedom to have an expanded
collection of psittacines without neglecting
any single pet. Princess of
Wales and Rock Pebbler Parakeets fit
delightfully into this category of avicultural
pet.
Princess of Wales, commonly
called Princess Parakeets, are sleek,
pastel packages of avian personality
which will naturally pitty-pat around
the floor curiously peering into every
corner and sampling bits of grit,
spilled seed or fluff. In fact, many of
them seem to prefer hanging out
with the doves on the ground of a
mixed aviary. They delight in grass
bundles, picked flowers, greens and
seeds offered in flat pie pans, logs,
crumbly material, and driftwood play
items encourage them to actively
explore and taste, though most seem
to chew little. After such a journey
around their grounds, capped off by
a playful bobbing and mumbling to
their reflection in a stainless seed
cup, one will spot them drowsily
tucking their head behind a wing and
settling in for a nap - while the rest
of the aviary parrots scream and carry
on around them. Sometimes I worry
that the Princess Parakeets are not
feeling well because they seem to
fluff their feathers and doze often and
at the oddest times.
In the living room, our two pets,
Hansel and Gretel, would have a
morning run around legs of furniture
picking at tufts of carpet or the like.
They sometimes will hop or jump-flap
about as if chasing their tails, uttering
little squeals of delight. Desert birds
by nature, Princess tend to avoid
excessive bathing; some must be
chased around with a spray bottle for
a weekly bath. Lyrae Perry, a noted
Southern California Australian parakeet
breeder, observed that young
Princess will use a water dish for
quick dips, but that adults prefer
overhead misting systems which
they use, wings spread, much like
cockatiels. "Even the breeder Princess
are friendly," she emphasized,
"though they do not like being
touched with hands. They prefer to
pay a visit, beg for a nice goody and
be on their way."
There are exceptions, of course.
Male Princess are often bolder and
more demanding of attention from
their owners, flying to arms and
shoulders for a nuzzle as if to ask
"what entertainment do you offer
me now?" Males ar-e also the more
consistent vocalizers, having attractive
varieties of whistles, clicks, and
tweets to go with a tiny computerlike
voice. The learning of words
seems to depend upon each individual
parrot's bond to its owner and the
amount of training, much as with
male cockatiels. The non-verbal communication
level is high, however.
Males will often greet their owner
with a flurry of bobbing and noisemaking
much akin to their joyful
courting dance- tiny forehead
feathers fluffed, eye pupils flashing,
feet prancing back and forth sideways
on the perch.
Such displays, along with their
extremely keen flight skills, make
these Australians a joy to watch
when given plenty of room to
actively maneuver. Their intelligent
direct flying habits make them perfect
parrots to negotiate inside takeoffs
and landings without stumbling
or crashing into glass windows and
unstable perch spots.