That Bird Blog That Fish Place / That Pet Place Bird Blog
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. The tiny, personable Bee Bee Parrot (Brotogeris jugularis) is a wonderful choice for first time parrot owners and experienced aviculturists alike. Only 7.5 inches long but with a stocky build, these little green birds have always reminded me of “sawed-off” Amazons, and I fell under their spell early on.
However, their unique natural history, which is often overlooked in pet care books, should be considered when planning your pet’s diet and care. Today we’ll take a look at some of this charming bird’s needs.
Natural History
Bee Bee Parrots range from southwestern Mexico through Central America to Columbia, Venezuela, eastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru. They favor forest edges, but have adapted to human intrusion and utilize farms and cut-over areas. They go about in pairs or flocks of up to 30 birds, and may sometimes breed communally in arboreal termite nests.
Bee Bee Parrots distinguish themselves by the wide variety of foods that they consume and by rearing their chicks largely upon fruit…a fact not always considered by those who keep them as pets. While they will survive on seed-only diets, keeping them in the peak of good health and breeding condition requires that we put some effort into providing dietary variety.
Feeding Pet Bee Bees
I suggest that you provide Bee Bee Parrots with a high grade Small Parrot Seed Mix, Cockatiel Pellets, Fresh Sprouts, Lory Nectar, Canned Insects, fruit, corn and other vegetables, greens (kale, romaine, etc.) and edible flowers (Dandelion) and buds (fruit trees).
Sounds like a lot of work, but Bee Bees really are a delight to feed – watching their excitement as they strip a branch of buds or plow into a flower head is most amusing! They are usually more than willing to try new foods (in contrast to many of their relatives!), so be sure to experiment with freeze-dried fruits and other parrot treats.
Bee Bee Parrots are well suited to cage or aviary life, and will nest in a typical Budgerigar box. Please write in if you’d like to try your hand at breeding these wonderful little birds.
Further Reading
You can learn more about Bee Bees and related species in this Parrot Society UK Article.
You can see a video of a calm, nicely colored pet Bee Bee Parrot Here.
Please write in with your questions and comments.
Thanks, until next time,
Frank Indiviglio
Tovi images referenced from wikipedia and originally posted to flickr by Rich Young (in tree) and Cristobal Alvarado Minic (perched on fingers) and uploaded by Snowmanradio
I have a pair of Bee Bees’ and an aviary for them to go into. Please tell me anything about breeding, as to the time of year they breed and how often. Housing bedding. They are really funny to watch. Also how old to pull babies for hand feeding. Anything as to drafts, etc. Right now the weather is warm. I am set up in winter with heaters, drop plastics, blankets. They will be fine all year. Thankyou
Hello Diana
Thanks for your interest. They are not the easiest of parrots to breed, but a good pair can be very prolific. One key is to provide a variety of nest boxes of different sizes, as they can be quite choosy. Smallest can be 9x9x16. In the wild, they usually excavate a chamber in an arboreal termite nest or an old woodpecker nest. The process of digging into the nest may be impt to some pairs. Boxes partially filled with peat and wood chips, or a rotted, partially hollow log, may stimulate them.. An inch or 2 of moist peat moss and wood chips (not cedar, redwood or pine) will serve as nesting material.
Pulling chicks is not recommended unless you’ve had a good deal of experience; newly fledged chicks are easily tamed. Please see this article on “Co-Parenting” for another take on hand rearing.
Please let me know if you need any further information. Good luck, enjoy and please keep me posted.
Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.
I think we have one. I would like to send in pictures for confirmation.
Hi! I have 4 Bee Bee’s and they were paired up and started screeching back and forth. So all 4 have been put in one large cage and that seems to be working, as now they all perch together and get along fine. I know I have 2 dna sexed males, but not sure of the other 2. There is a nest box, so we’ll see what happens! Thankyou for the updates and will keep info on these coming.
Thanks and good to hear, Diana. If you can, add another nest box as if another pair forms (same sex pairs are also possible) there may be fighting, disturbance of brooding birds, etc.
Enjoy, best, Frank