We have had many birds throughout the years...some as pets and some as rescues. We've had Blue & Gold Macaws, Vosmari Eclectus female, Gouldian Finches (beautiful but they throw their babies out of the nest alive so they can breed again
) singing canaries, cockatiels, Ringneck Parrots, African Gray (Congo), Pocket Parrots (Pacific Parrotletts) and several others.
My very favorite of all was a cheeky little Quaker named Sweetheart. He hated me but loved my husband, I honestly don't think there was anything that little bird couldn't say...he would sing, call us by name, tell me it was a dirty, dirty cage and request a cage cleaning and then promise to be nice but he would go for me everytime! He would curse a blue streak and immediately proclaim his love for you and give you kisses. We bought him from a couple that were divorcing...Sweetheart would crouch down with his wings out a little and pace back and forth mumbling things we couldn't understand...then he would stop and raise up on his tippy toes and hollar out 'You Son of a B****! or something just as nice. The only thing we could figure was that he was repeating their fights but the mumbling was maybe because with them both yelling he really couldn't pick it all up...probably a good thing though! We would cover them at night and every morning you would hear Sweetheart whispering a song (usually You Are My Sunshine or Ol' Suzanna) under his cover but when that cover came off he would get up on his tippy toes and very loudly tell you 'Good Morning!!'. He was a great little bird and if I ever had one again it would be a Quaker.
Yes, birds are a lot of work, they need more than seed and water...they take time, care, a lot of attention and responsibility but they are a lot of fun too. You can't just keep a bird in a cage, feed it seeds and expect it to thrive...they need fresh fruits and vegetables and, just like with dogs, there are things they can't have. Our first Yorkie didn't like the smaller birds but he was fine with the larger ones and my son's Boston Bulldog killed 2 of their Quakers so you have to supervise them at all times.
I didn't mean for this to get so long...sorry! Good luck if you decide to get a bird! Oh, here's a tip...the heavy plastic floor guards you use under a desk chair make a perfect floor protector for a bird cage. The part that sticks out goes under the open cage door so when they poop you can clean it up easily, it catches all the wet food and they look nice too.