Читать книгу Birds For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 32

No bird is perfectly quiet. Finches keep up a constant chatter, and canaries have been encouraged through centuries of breeding to sing. Some birds, however, can make you yearn for the relative quiet of a house next to a major airport. Birds use their voices to communicate their feelings — of loneliness, of boredom, of isolation, or of just being alive. Some pet birds are noisy only at certain times, such as in the early morning or at dusk, while others can start up at any time.

You need to figure out your tolerance levels and balance them with the bird you’re considering. If peace and quiet is of paramount importance to you, no bird may fit into your life. Even the most patient souls may discover that the real screamers push their limits at one time or another.

Consider, too, your living situation — apartment, attached house, suburban dwelling, or acreage. The walls of an apartment building or attached house do little to muffle the sounds of the loudest birds, and that could lead to trouble with the neighbors — or even get you evicted. If you’re considering chickens or other backyard poultry as companions, keep in mind that zoning and homeowner’s association regulations may prevent the keeping of those birds. As an example, many cities have ordinances prohibiting the keeping of roosters or limiting the numbers of birds that a household can keep.

Sometimes bird lovers make matters worse by their reactions to screaming birds. For tips on what to do — and what not to do — with a screaming, noisy, disruptive feathered child, see Chapter 12.