Parakeets are arguably the calmest of the parrot species of birds, and the lineolated parakeet is one of the quietest and calmest members of the parrot family, making them the ideal pet.
Lineolated parakeets are sometimes mistaken for budgies, but they are more tranquil and a little stockier than budgies.
Lineolated parakeets enjoy walking around as much as they love to fly, unlike budgies, and the linnies have a deep love for bathing, so get ready for the water play when you adopt one.
Linnies are very interesting to be with, and they are known to assume an odd resting posture in which they relax in nearly horizontal alignment (you should see that).
Common Names
Another name for the lineolated parakeet is the barred parakeet and the Catherine parakeet.
Lineolated parakeet enthusiasts often call these birds by their nickname, the “Linnie.”
Scientific Name
Bolborhynchus lineola is the taxonomical name for the lineolated parakeet, and various subspecies exist.
Origin and History
Various subspecies of lineolated parakeet can be found in Central America, the wild of Mexico, and South America.
The natural habitat of lineolated parakeets includes dense forests around mountain terrain, such as the ones found in the Andes mountains of Peru.
Size
If you love small birds, the lineolated parakeet is perfect for you.
Typically reaching between 6 to 7 inches in length when measured from the beak to the end tail feathers, the lineolated parakeet is one of the smallest parrot species.
At maturity, the lineolated parakeet weighs a little less than two ounces.
Average Lifespan
In captivity, an average lineolated parakeet can live up to 10 years, but there have been reported cases of lineolated parakeets living as long as 20 years.
Temperament
When properly caring for and hand feeding a lineolated parakeet, they can become very sweet and develop an even-tempered personality.
Lineolated parakeets are very social birds and do not mind sitting on and spending time with their caregivers.
They are known to make very comical little pets. Because of their sociable nature, they easily become valuable family members, always wanting to play with the human flock.
If you are interested in getting one of these, you should be ready to dedicate plenty of time for interaction with your pet as they get bored quickly and need plenty of daily playtime.
Lineolated parakeets are playful and quieter than other birds in the parakeet family, and they rather chatter more than screech.
They can become talkers who can enunciate clearly, even though their vocabulary tends to be more limited than that of other parrots. They are lovely at mimicking whistles and sounds, too.
Colors and Markings
Lineolated parakeets in the wild are mostly green feathered with black and dark green stripes on their wings, back, and sides.
The undersides of the lineolated parakeet’s wings are blue, and the feathers on the tail are dark green.
They have brown eyes and horn-coloured beaks. Lineolated parakeets bred in captivity can display a variety of color mutations.
The feathers change in color after the bird leaves the wild, sometimes displaying blue, white, cobalt, and even turquoise.
The male and female Lineonated parakeets are difficult to differentiate because they look alike.
Still, careful observers sometimes can tell the difference because the male lineolated parakeet has more black lines on its body than the female.
Caring for the Lineolated Parakeet
Because we dealing with a small bird, we do not necessarily need a big cage.
However, the bigger the cage, the better, for obvious reasons.
If you have only one lineolated parakeet, a cage with the bare minimum of a 24-inch square is good enough for housing as long as you give your pet enough time to play outside the cage daily.
Your pet will do wonderfully well there if you have an aviary environment with other small birds or linnes.
However, having many birds would mean more noise, so prepare for that.
Although, unlike other parrot species, the lineolated parakeet is not destructive; they need toys they can easily gnaw on and chew.
Provide your pet with good toys that can be chewed on and branches they can dig into.
You should also allow your linnie out of the cage to play and interact with other family members for as long as possible.
These friendly, feathered tiny fellows like to walk on furniture and the floors around the house.
Some owners have even reported that their linnies enjoy burrowing under pieces of fabric and blankets, which means you have to be careful not to sit on your birdie accidentally.
Just like other members of the parrot family, lineolated parakeets can have a very difficult adolescent period where they may bite and attack.
Still, that period passes in no time, and everything goes back to normal without any significant damage done.
You might have to do a lot of pedicure for your birdies as the toenails of a lineolated parakeet grow fast.
A “grooming” perch would be of good service here since it will help keep your pet’s toenails abraded.
Linnies love to bathe daily, so make sure your spray bottle is handy and you fill it with warm water to shower your birdie daily.
Reserve a space where your linnie can preen and dry off, and be sure that space isn’t drafty.
Feeding
As with many birds of the hookbill species, it is vital to ensure that pet lineolated parakeets are fed with plenty of high-quality seeds and pellet mix, supplemented with enough bird-friendly fruits and veggies.
Lineolated parakeets love to eat fresh sprouts and should be given some spray millet.
Offer some calcium to your pet in the form of mineral block or cuttlebone.
Exercise
Linnies in the wild are very playful and spend much of their time savaging for what to eat, interacting with their buddies, and trying to escape predators.
The point is that when in captivity, you need to give them a chance to be themselves outside the cage so that they can burn all that excess energy they always have.
During these play and exercise periods, supervise your linnie’s activities so they do not get hurt.
Common Health Issues
Like budgies, linnies are susceptible to some of the same diseases that other parrots deal with.
These diseases could be more dangerous in small birds as treatment is often more difficult because of their size.
Nevertheless, many illnesses small birds, like linnies, suffer from are vitamin deficiencies, which can easily be avoided by feeding your pet fresh fruits and veggies.
Sprouted seeds should be included in your linne’s diet to help prevent fatty tumors as linnes are very susceptible to them.