Complete Psittacine by Eb Cravens
I have always admired those bird keepers who only own one bird. They do not sell birds or reproduce birds or collect birds. They acquired a cage bird out of pure fascination with winged creatures and are totally satisfied to lavish all their daily care and attentions upon that one. For them cockatoos or conures or finches or canaries never became a habit.
That reminds me of a time some years ago when a group of friends were having a friendly discussion at an international avicultural convention. The question was asked if we could only have one kind of parrot, which kind would it be? There were few, if any, clear cut answers. “Oh, I could never decide,” was a common response. During the ensuing weeks, I continued to ponder this question. What a great way to focus all one’s bird keeping energies by choosing a single avian species and devoting all one’s energies to that type, with an avicultural flock, or a single breeding pair, or keeping a single pet or two of that chosen species as companions in the home.
It bears mention that the opposite of this method of bird keeping is the indiscriminate buying and collecting of one parrot after another of many different species, making it difficult to closely monitor and gather relevant information about each single type involved. The educational value of a single species flock I call it.