Caiques (pronounced kye-eeks) are fearless, joyful, playful, entertaining, and charming.  They love to roll around, tumble, play on their backs, and hop like bunny rabbits!

Immature White-Bellied Caiques may possess a varied amount of black feathering on their heads.  Additionally, they may have grayish/blackish blotching on their beaks and feet.  This is commonly seen with immature White-Bellied Caiques.  By the time they reach maturity at approximately 3 years of age, the black feathers are usually replaced by bright orange feathers and lighter beaks and feet.  Some expert aviculturists say that the White-Bellies who have heavy black feathering as babies have had darker orange feathering on their heads as adults.

Caiques are extremely sociable and outgoing and seem to have an endless energy supply and enthusiastic personalities.  Due to their incredibly lively nature, Caiques need a constant and ample supply of food to maintain their high energy levels.  Additionally, Caiques should be supplied with a variety of toys to keep them busy and entertained.  Caiques are highly intelligent and are capable of learning a variety of tricks.

Caiques need a good size cage, especially because they are so active.  Caiques require at least a 27 inch wide cage, which will allow for an ample supply of toys to fit comfortably inside the cage.

While playing with their favorite person, Caiques are known to engage in a game known as "hair surfing."  They grab a footful of hair and swing back and forth, rubbing their head, beak, and chest on their favorite person's head!  The only problem with this type of play is that they can and usually will get tangled up inside your hair, so be careful!

Caiques are not strong fliers, as they have relatively short wings in proportion to their body size.  Many people decide against clipping their Caique's wings for this reason.

Caiques do very well in active households.  If you are looking for a small parrot with a big personality, then perhaps a Caique is the perfect match for you.