Intelligent, devoted, alien – parrots are unlike any other pet
I’ve kept budgies (parakeets) all my life, and occasionally I’ll post a picture on social media and get the inevitable “keeping birds in cages is cruel” backlash.  It invariably comes from people who do not keep birds.<p>Budgies <i>love</i> their cages. They clean them, they rearrange them, they make them into a perfect environment in any way they can. Introduce something they don’t like and it’ll end up on the floor. Introduce something they do like and they’ll probably move it because they weren’t happy with the placement.<p>With the pair I have currently, the whole front of their cage opens up and I open it every day. Usually the male has a five minute fly around the room, lands on the cage, then climbs back in. The female usually doesn’t even bother because she’s far too occupied with housekeeping and making angry noises because he’s not with her.<p>I can’t speak for the larger parrots having never looked after any, but budgies love their cages.