Pionus

The next position on the list of the friendliest birds in the world is the Pionus which are all between 10 and 12 inches long and have the same basic shape, with a short, square tail like Amazon parrots; a bare, fleshy eye-ring circling the entire eye; and red feathers at the vent. These are the only physical characteristics that Pionus share — they differ so greatly in a color that it's difficult to understand why field biologists group them all together.

In general, Pionus parrots make excellent family birds and are not prone to being "one person" birds, though this varies by individual. Even though the Pionus bite isn't as strong as that of the Amazon or the cockatoo, unsupervised children should not be allowed to play with the Pionus or any other parrot.

When most birds are scared, they either flee, bite, or remain perfectly still. The Pionus does these things, as well as another interesting survival technique: it hisses in short bursts, almost as if it's having difficulty breathing. When frightened, cockatiels make a similar noise. Some Pionus owners report that their birds have a sweet, musky odor.