Splendind Parakeet...

Splendid personality vs. Bourke

I've had a female Rosy Bourke and a male Splendid for about a year now. Both were handfed and I acquired both as 6-month old babies, which were handled but not as much as when they were being hand-fed. So both needed a little retaming to get them friendly. Both were wing-clipped when I got them but could still fly a little. Both are now are fully-flighted (I never re-clipped and never plan to - they LOVE to fly and they are not at all destructive).

I would say my Bourke has been more "forward" and friendly. She took a while to warm up to me - for the first 2-3 months, she would stay on my finger a few seconds and then fly back to her cage - we did this every day. Eventually, I started opening up the cage but then ignoring her and she started coming over to me on her own. Now she as friendly as can be and flies over to me every day to spend some time on my arm or shoulder, "talking" with me. My Splendid is tame but more reserved. He will step on my finger, as you can see, but I usually have to get him. He rarely flies to me. But both get free flight time every day and love spending time on the floor, picking through my rugs. And if I lay on the floor with them, they both come right over to my face and nibble my nose or glasses - but again the Bourke is friendlier and runs over to me, whereas the Splendid walks over.

Both are very smart birds and know how to fly back to their own cages when they have had enough time exploring (usually within 30 minutes). They also never bite! If you want them to eat out of your hands, 2 treats they really like are hemp seeds and baby green peas.

So I'd say handfed Splendids are suitable as pets in cages, as opposed to aviaries, as long as they get some exploring time outside the cage every or almost every day. They are not as clingy as some parrots. If handfed, they can be tame but they are reserved in their personality - but still can be friendly. Bourkes seem somewhat friendlier - certainly bolder. Mine are fully flighted so they have some independence - but I like it that way and it works out for me.











And below here is a movie you can watch to see them interacting at bath time (click the photo to PLAY it).

I have a young male Splendid. He is 4 months old. He is just beginning to get his colors.