I have several friends who had/have birds as pets and I would never have one myself . They are messy , most people I know have to devote a whole area to the bird , cage , roost etc.. Not my idea of a good pet . They live a very long time so what happens when your circumstances change ? I've had a bunch of dogs and that's the only pet for me . I don't understand why people get birds , reptiles , spiders , rats or snakes .

Same reason why people get cats and dogs.

Moved because I don’t want to drag down this thread.

Birds are great, but they need a lot of attention

Yes they do... like hours of attention every single day.  They're not for people who aren't ready for a very large and long commitment.

They are pretty smart and interesting, but as mentioned need attention to be good pets.  Otherwise they are just ornaments.  I have had parrots for over 45 years.  They are not as messy as some say, however you need to adjust to what kind of mess they make.  Bird poop doesn't smell or stain and they tend to go in nearly the same few spots.  Put something disposable there and change it daily.  They don't need shots or worm pills, ear cleaning, etc. like dogs & cats, and their food is dry and cheap.  With daily attention they become affectionate and genuinely happy to be around you.  My longest lived one I had for 36 years, and gave him a good life.  I got my blue & gold Macaw in 2005 as a baby and he should outlive me.  They can live up to 100 years.

If ours hasn't seen one of its favorite people in hours, they walk into the room, it'll get excited, flap its wings, and say "I missed you!  I love you!  I missed you!  I love you!"  It clearly doesn't understand the full English meaning, but it also clearly associates those phrases with "I haven't seen you in a while and I'm excited that you're back."  It comes from lots of daily interaction, training, talking, etc..

Also, parrots freaking LOVE motorcycle rides, the way Hunter Biden loves drugs and hookers.

Yeah i had two conures for 10-12 years. There great small parrots. They can be sweet and loving one minute and then zero to through the roof pist off the next. Lol

Years ago ( in a previous life ) we ( the ex and me ) ran a rescue in Ga. We had about 300 all told. My gal was a green wing macaw, she was the gentle giant, such a sweet girl, wouldn’t bite anyone. She broke my heart by crossing over at age 7, I have a suspicion of what happened , but at this point no way to know. We took in a female goffins cockatoo that absolutely adored me. The pionus is a sweetheart of a bird and has a nice fragrance about them. Smartest was our African Grey, but that green wing … her name was Buffet and she took a piece of my heart that day, but not nearly as much as my cocker Snickers.