New Bird Daddy - Please help me ID my new family member

[Dan69]

Hello all,
I am going to be bringing a bird home soon. I was told it was some sort of Conure but after doing some digging, it appears that Conures don't come in white (I saw that on the internet so it has to be true, right? haha. Correct me if I'm wrong.). I'm now thinking this is a Lovebird. Can I get some help in identifying him? He has been an office bird and more recently, my office companion and he has picked up some words, but his speech is rudimentary. He's better at mimicking sounds (clicks, kissing sounds, whistling) than he is at words. I'm attaching some photos. Thanks in advance.

 

[saxguy64]

Welcome, and thank you for giving an adorable little bird a home! I'm not sure, especially not knowing exactly how big he is. If he's small, like budgie or smaller, I thought maybe a parrotlet. I think they have shorter tails, but I found a few pictures that are quite similar.

The tail is throwing me off. I don't think lovebird, since they have short tails as well.
Actually, looking at the markings on your second picture, I'm thinking some kind of quaker color mutation. This one is called a blue crossover:

Maybe?

 

[Dan69]

That blue crossover looks like his twin. He has been to the vet for a checkup and I was told they weren't sure what he was. I'm attaching another photo with him on my hand for better size comparison.

 

[Dan69]

I'm thinking you're right about not being a lovebird. His bottom beak is more pronounced.

 

[Cottonoid]

I've seen a few Quakers that look just like that here in Minnesota so my vote is Quaker

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on your new friend!!

 

[saxguy64]

Does he have blue on his back? I found this.

Some of the pictures I found look pretty close in size, colors and beak shape/color, so I'd vote for Quaker.

 

[Dan69]

Does he have blue on his back? I found this.
View attachment 45499
Some of the pictures I found look pretty close in size, colors and beak shape/color, so I'd vote for Quaker.

No, it's only his tail feathers.

 

[saxguy64]

Ahhh, I think with the mutations, there a lot of variations, so I doubt that's specific to defining what he is.

 

[Rozalka]

I'm 100% sure - quaker parrot

In some countries they are called as conures, so it wasn't 100% wrong but... most English speakers will tell that QPs aren't conures and personally I never call them conures.

 

[Dan69]

Well I think I have a pretty good idea now that he's a Quaker. I just looked through some pictures and some YouTube videos and I'm pretty convinced. Appearance, mannerisms, size, voice... it all points to Quaker.

 

[HeatherG]

That beak is totally Quaker parakeet. If he has a short tail maybe it’s just not fully grown out. And in a few of the photos you can see the distinctive Quaker parakeet bib. The tips of the bib feathers, over the crop area, are slightly whiter than the body and base of the feather.

Lucky you! I think the birds lack of melanin in bib, wing, and tail feathers is what’s throwing people off. That’s a beautiful and valuable bird. In my experience Quakers can learn to talk very very well. You won’t mistake them for people but they’re very clear and often seem to know what they’re saying.

Quakers were known as “widow conures” in French. They were classified as conures before DNA comparison became possible.

 

[Dan69]

No, his tail isn't short. As far as his speaking goes, he's been around the office almost a year now, and a few months in my office (as opposed to a common area). Peak-a-boo is one of his words, for example. It's not perfect, and just hearing it you won't know what he's saying, but I know that's his way of saying it. It sounds more like "pea-oo", and sometimes just "pea". He does know the word, "OWW" (short for OUCH). He learned that on his own after nipping me a few times and hearing me say it. He mumbles a lot. Most often when I'm talking to somebody, it's as if he is trying to join in the conversation. I stop talking and look at him and say, "Are you mocking me?". He stops mumbling until I start talking again and then he starts again. It's pretty funny. He laughs too . Again, that wasn't taught. He just mimics.

I'm getting off-topic. I think my question was answered and I want to thank everybody for their input.

 

[Cottonoid]

Don't worry, I guarantee we all love the stories!

 

[Dan69]

Don't worry, I guarantee we all love the stories!

Well here's his story.

Murray's Story

He was brought into our workplace by my boss (who is very much an animal advocate). A friend of his had a life event that required him to give up the bird. Instead of letting him go to a shelter, my boss stepped in to foster him until he could find him a home, so he brought him to live at the...

www.parrotforums.com

 

[HeatherG]

I noticed that my Lucy Quaker paid a lot of attention to how I pronounced my words, and repeated that with a bit of exaggeration. So if I wanted to correct her pronunciation error, I had to emphasize the corrected sounds.

Unfortunately that led to her saying some phrases strangely. She would say “Fohp it” instead of “stop it”. After I corrected her I then had a bird who said “sToP iTT!”

So you can use the trick of very clearly pronouncing words your bird makes errors on, because he may continue to correct his speech as he listens to you.