Okay, my little cousin (Marissa) is seven years old. Her and I are very, very close and she pretty much looks up to my like an older sister/role model. I had recently bought my parrot 3 months ago (a nanday conure.) My little cousin fell in love with birds after seeing mine and she won't stop asking her parents (EVERYDAY) if she can have one for Christmas. My uncle and aunt are ready to give in and came to me asking for help, as they have NO experience at all. I really do not want them to make a mistake.. I do think she is old enough but I don't know if the responsilbility will be there to take care of it from her. My fear is that my aunt or uncle will end up caring for the bird (which they are ready and willing to do) and I don't want it to get nasty towards my little cousin as most birds tend to attach themselves to one person. My bird for example, is very jealous everytime Marissa comes over; his feathers go up and he makes a hissing noise at her. I try to fix this by showing him shes nice and getting him to go to her and he's just not for it.
I wanted to know thoughts on this: what type of bird would be good for her/them? I know my uncle wanted something a little more interactive* than a parakeet (i hope that is not offensive as I never had one before.) I was thinking maybe a cockatiel? I have no experience with any other types of birds than conures and I'm not sure if that is good to start out with?? I have been really pushing the fact that this is going to be a big deal and very time consuming but I would like any advice from you to give to them please.
We plan to visit a very large bird store over near my area (all hand raised) maybe this weekend just to look and I do plan to ask them advice as well, but I'd like to have a little plan before I go there.
Thanks in advance!
-Kim