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| Alright, I have to make a decision here and I am having a heck of a time picking so here it goes. I am a very experianced bird handler. I bought my first bird when I was 12 years old, by the time I was 18 I owned 27 birds. I started working (training birds) at the local zoo when I was 14, however when I turned 20 I was forced to relocate to a different zoo (and a different type of animal). The combination of the move of about 500 miles and housing restrictions when I got there sadly forced me to sell/give away all of my birds (took me FOREVER to find them all good homes). That was 5 years ago, now I am just itching to get another bird... I just can't take it anymore. The house is far to quiet... BUT now I have a wife and a baby. My wife has never owned a bird and the only experiance she has had was with a super aggressive Lesser Sulpher Crested Cockatoo that a friend in her home town had. She has told me I can get whatever bird I want, therefore the search began! Now heres my problem. I have narrowed down my search to: 1) Umbrella Cockatoo - I love the cuddle-factor, have plenty of time (so thats not a problem), and had great luck with them before in regards to training them various tricks, but obviously not a wonderful talker... which is a factor. 2) Congo African Grey - Love the intelligence, the "not a screamer" mentality, but not a very cuddly bird, and I am a little worried about having a "I hate the wife and baby" syndrome. 3) Blue & Gold Macaw - Love the "kinda cuddly", fairly intelligent, moderate talking ability, and playfullness. Midline on the screaming, but obviously a very intimidating looking bird for an inexperianced person (wife). I need to decide which breed to go with, I guess I am pulling towards the cockatoo at the moment, but just thought I would throw it out there for discussion (hopefully get some good feedback). I hope to get a bird that will give my wife a good first-time experiance so she allows me to get more birds in the future  . And before anybody goes there... yes I know that finding a good baby is important, and that every bird has their own personality... I am just looking for some generalized advice. I am very VERY picky when I actually start going to the breeders to meet prospective new family members... and so far I have never had a "Bad" bird... a few with "interesting" personalities, but I have had great luck. Alright... your turn... shoot.
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For Your wife as a first-timer, i would most likely get the blue and gold macaw because they are pretty and because of its personality.  And it doesnt scream as much as a cockatoo.
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just a thought ,, from what I have heard the macaw can be a ONE PERSON bird. With your wife this could be a problem for her if the bird is attached to you. Personally with the love and attention and time sounds like you have I would go for the cockatoo. Your wife will fall in Love..
Addy
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I just wanted to warn you about in a pickle parrots. My husband and I bought a bird from them a year ago. He came to us with Pseudomonas and we ended up spending about $1500.00 to treat him and get him well.
I would not recommend them to anyone. I just wanted to warn future customers.
A bird lover,
Kendra
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Only invest in a cockatoo if you have 6+ hours to spend at home with the bird; they're high maintenance, and are prone to mutilate and pluck themselves when they feel neglected, bored, or anxious. If overly spoiled, they become screamers when they aren't getting attention.
I have two rescue cockatoos; one was a plucker/mutilator. She's totally recovered now, but I work from home and have every minute of the day to spend with her.
That said, there is NO love like Cockatoo-love. They are cuddly, they are clownish, they are absolutely heart-warming-- and they know it, too. I would never trade my babes for anything in the world.
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