
In the following sections, we’ll be exploring more about these beautiful birds and how they differ. Studies in developmental biology have identified both parrots and cockatiels as altricial species. Gender identification is very difficult in many species of birds under both groups. Specifically, choosing males or females might be a bit of a challenge. Ultimately, both cockatiels and parakeets are affectionate birds and make great pets. Notice the short curved beaks on both birdsĬockatiels also happen to be significantly larger than parakeets, which is another major difference. However, while blue and green are the most common parakeet colors, a majority of the cockatiels have yellow and/or grey feathers. While the beautiful crest on a cockatiel’s head is quite prominent, this feature is entirely missing in parakeets.īoth species of parrots can be quite colorful and come in a variety of color combinations. In terms of identification, the cockatiel’s crest is an important feature. In both species, the males can talk much better than the females. These wild bird species were brought to the UK and bred by pet traders.Įventually, different varieties of parakeets and cockatiels reached the US and Canada too. Neither of the two is native to North America – they originated in Australia. Modern birds in these groups look quite different from their ancestors in the wild and are more colorful. Parakeets and cockatiels share the same ancestry, which you might guess from their somewhat similar appearance and body structure.īoth these birds have short, curved beaks, like all parrots.

Cockatoos, native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia boast of a single color plumage of either black or white, with some species having pink, red and yellow colors. Some mutations of this gray bird include lutino, pearl, cinnamon and silver cockatiels. Cockatiels that are native to the wild in Australia are mostly gray, with yellow face and distinctive cheek patches there could be some color changes when they are kept in captivity.Cockatiels have much smaller beaks than cockatoos that are shaped like that of a parrot. The first significant difference between a cockatoo and a cockatiel is that cockatiels are about 10 to 13 inches long, while cockatoos are 20 inches.Important differences between a cockatoo and cockatiel:

Both cockatoos and cockatiels are members of the order Psittaciformes (parrots). Cockatoo and cockatiel are similar yet different birds cockatoos have 21 species within the bird family Cacatuidae and cockatiels are the only members of the of the genus Nymphicus.
