Vibrant Pet Birds for Bird Lovers Who Want Colour

In this guide

If plumage is a big part of what draws you to birds, these species deliver some of the most striking colour in aviculture.

Colour is one of the simplest joys of keeping birds, and while temperament and care needs should always come first in choosing a species, there is nothing wrong with also wanting a genuinely eye-catching bird. These species are known for particularly vivid, varied plumage, whether in their natural form or through the colour mutations that have been developed in captivity.

Small and mid-sized colourful species

• Budgerigars: available in an enormous range of colour mutations from sky blue to violet to lutino yellow, making even this common beginner bird a striking option
• Lovebirds: peach-faced lovebirds alone come in more than a dozen colour mutations, and their natural green and orange colouring is vivid on its own
• Sun conures: a blaze of orange, yellow and green that is hard to miss even from across a room
• Rainbow lorikeets: genuinely rainbow-coloured, with a blend of blue, green, orange and yellow that is among the most dramatic in the parrot world
• Gouldian finches: small but extraordinarily colourful, with combinations of purple, yellow, green and red depending on the mutation

Larger colourful species

• Macaws: blue and gold macaws and scarlet macaws in particular are some of the most visually striking birds kept as pets anywhere, though their size, noise and long-term commitment are serious considerations
• Eclectus parrots: unusual among parrots for their strong colour difference between males, which are green, and females, which are a vivid red and purple
• Rosellas: crimson rosellas and their relatives combine red, blue and yellow in bold, clearly defined patches

Choosing colour without losing sight of the rest

A vivid bird that is poorly suited to your household in terms of noise, space or temperament will not stay enjoyable for long, however beautiful it looks. It is worth treating colour as a pleasant bonus once you have already narrowed your options down using the more practical factors, rather than the deciding factor on its own, particularly with the larger, more demanding species on this list.

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