How to Buy a Pet Bird in Canada | PetzLover

Which pet bird suits your home?

In an apartment or condo with shared walls, budgies, a canary or a cockatiel are far easier on the neighbours than a large parrot.

Plan for the whole lifespan, including who would take a parrot that outlives you. Adult birds are a strong alternative; see our guides on adopting a pet bird and taking in a rehomed bird.

What Canadian laws apply when you buy a bird?

Common pet birds such as budgies and cockatiels need no federal permit to keep, but four sets of rules matter to buyers.

• Native wild birds: the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 bans possessing, buying, selling or giving a migratory bird without authorization, including songbirds such as the American robin. Hawks and owls fall under provincial law, and Ontario, for example, generally prevents people from keeping its native wildlife as pets.
• CITES parrots: Canada applies CITES through the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). African greys, scarlet and hyacinth macaws, and Goffin's and Moluccan cockatoos are on Appendix I, and offering one for sale is an offence unless the seller can show, for example, that it was bred in captivity or legally imported.
• Imports: a bird brought in under the CFIA's pet-bird rules travels with its owner, who declares it a personal pet, not for resale. Birds imported to sell need a CFIA permit.
• Welfare: provincial laws such as Ontario's Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019 set standards of care, and the Criminal Code makes it an offence to abandon a captive bird in distress or neglect its food, water, shelter and care.

Where should you look for pet birds for sale in Canada?

Good sources are hobby breeders who let you visit, pet stores, and owners selling a bird they know well. Shelters such as Toronto Animal Services and the Toronto Humane Society also place cockatiels and other parrots.

On PetzLover you can browse pet birds for sale, filter by kind of bird and location, save a search to hear about new listings, and message the seller before you visit. If nothing suits, a pet bird wanted ad lets owners come to you. Prefer a seller within driving distance, to spare the bird a long, cold journey.

What should you ask a bird seller before you pay?

• When did it hatch, and how do you know its sex (a DNA test or adult plumage)?
• Did you breed it? If not, where did it come from, and is there a closed leg band or microchip number?
• Is it fully weaned, and what does it eat now?
• For an Appendix I parrot: can I see the breeding records or the CITES import permit?
• Has a vet who sees birds examined it, and can I see the records?
• Has it been near poultry or wild birds, and have any of your birds been ill recently?
• Can I see the bird, and ideally its parents, before I pay anything?

Get the price, what is included and the band or microchip number on a dated receipt with the seller's full name and address.

How do you check a bird's health and protect your family?

A healthy bird is alert, with bright eyes, clean nostrils, smooth feathers and a clean vent. Be wary of a bird that sits fluffed up, has a runny nose or eyes, or bobs its tail as it breathes.

The Public Health Agency of Canada notes that parrots, cockatoos, parakeets and pigeons are especially affected by the bacterium behind psittacosis, which people catch by breathing in particles from droppings or by contact with infected birds. A bird can carry it while looking healthy, so wash your hands after handling a new bird.

1. Keep the new bird in a separate room from your other birds for at least 30 days.
2. Book an exam with a vet who sees birds within the first week or two.
3. Feed the seller's food at first, then change the diet slowly.
4. Call the vet early if you see low energy, poor appetite, sneezing, swelling around the eyes or diarrhea.

How do you avoid pet bird scams in Canada?

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre warns that animal frauds often begin as ads for low-priced or free animals, followed by one payment after another for shipping, vaccinations, certificates or insurance, and no animal at the end. Small sums go too: in May 2026, Ontario Provincial Police said a Kawartha Lakes buyer lost C$60 by e-transfer for three chickens, then found the pickup address had nothing to do with the seller.

• A rare parrot priced far below similar listings.
• A seller who will not let you visit and only offers to ship.
• A bird said to be coming from abroad by courier; under CFIA rules a pet bird crosses the border with its owner.
• An African grey or macaw with no breeding records or CITES papers.
• Pressure to send a deposit today by e-transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency.

Use the Report Scam button on any listing that looks wrong. If you have lost money, call your bank and local police, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501. Our guide on how to sell pet birds shows what an honest seller offers.

How do you bring a new bird home in a Canadian winter?

An Alberta veterinary hospital notes that larger birds such as parrots tolerate temperatures only down to about 10°C, and that colder birds may flap hard to keep warm and stop eating. British Columbia's Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act treats an animal not protected from excessive heat or cold as being in distress.

• Warm the car first, and cover the carrier with a blanket, leaving gaps for air.
• Drive straight home, and never leave a bird in a parked car.
• Set the cage up beforehand, away from outside doors, windows and heating vents.
• Keep the bird out of the kitchen: VCA Canada warns that non-stick cookware heated above 280°C gives off fumes toxic to birds, and that heating elements, heat lamps and irons can carry the same coating. It also lists smoke and carbon monoxide among the dangers.