Mixing bird species in an aviary

Updated 05/09/24

It’s the subject of debate among keepers that regularly divides us- so should we be mixing species? Let’s find out... 

Mixed species exhibits are becoming more heavily featured in zoological collections across the world in an attempt to create the ultimate immersive experience for the visitor, and mimic natural habitats and inter-species relationships for the animals housed. The practise extends far beyond birds, with mammal, reptile, and amphibian species kept in the same way. Some even dare to mix different taxonomic groups, but that could easily become an article all of its own! 

But zoos are professionals in animal care- is it something we can also do at home? Mixing bird species can rapidly become a dangerous situation when the due care and attention is not put in, and thorough research is vital. This guide will begin to explain all you need to know about planning, housing, and maintaining a mixed collection, providing a solid foundation to base your further research. 

Planning housing- 

To begin, you will need to consider how you are going to house your birds. Will you be dedicating an entire room, a small cage, or perhaps a large garden aviary? Considering this first will provide the basis of the next steps. 

• An outdoor aviary is by far the best option for a mixed species enclosure due to the space. Our own aviary has around 20 cubic metres of outdoor space, as well as indoor areas- we simply wouldn’t be able to provide this indoors 

• If you can allow your birds to inhabit an entire room of your house, this would also be ideal. It may however require additional work and restrict what you will be able to achieve with theming. 

• A typical bird cage is simply not suitable for mixing individuals of more than one species. It would not allow the birds enough space to escape each other. Birds could perhaps be kept in individual cages and allowed shared access to a central space under supervision 

As a side note, whether mixing species or not, a well-designed and executed aviary can become a haven for your birds, allowing them the freedom of flight in a large area, the ability to exhibit their natural behaviours and hundreds more benefits: but that is for another blog! 

Choosing species- 

Now you know which type of enclosure you will use; you can start to think about the birds you want to keep. This requires a bit more thought than simply choosing the prettiest birds at the pet shop. Several criteria will govern what you can keep together, right down to the individual personalities of each animal. This section will explore these criteria and offer some examples of successful and unsuccessful mixed aviaries. 

Enclosure size and design: Size matters! The size and construction of your aviary is usually the deciding factor in what can be kept. It will dictate the species you can house, the number of species that could be mixed, and the total stocking density of the space. It extends far beyond the space available to include aspects such as indoor facilities, feeding stations, and perching availability. Even the materials used can impact species selection. 

Here it is also worth noting some general points for aviary design. Height is important for flighted species, but they don’t fly like helicopters! Ensure that the aviary is also wide and long enough to support your species’ needs. Minimum recommended sizes are available for most aviary bird species, and these should always be considered- mixed species aviaries will require these minimums to be increased significantly. 

To house more than one species it is important to meet some certain design criteria. This will include... 

• Visual barriers- do the birds have spaces they can retreat into should they need to seek refuge from others? Trees and shrubs can help to achieve this, as well as artificial features such as fences and dividers. If housing small and large species together (although this is generally not recommended) it should be considered that a retreat area is needed. This could be as simple as a physical barrier with holes large enough to allow only the smaller species through 

• Indoor facilities- can all the birds fit in the indoor space provided, whilst still having room to get away from each other? Again, physical, or visual barriers may be needed to create individual areas for the birds 

• Feeding areas- is there space to provide several food bowls? Not only might different diet types have to be considered, but conflict over a single food source is highly likely when keeping multiple species. You will want to ensure each of the species has an area to get food and water, including in any refuge areas 

• Perching availability- is there enough perch space to avoid conflict between the different species? For small birds (anything from finch to budgie size) a minimum of 20cm of perching is recommended 

Location: A great way to determine the species you want to house is by choosing a particular location. For our aviary I chose Australia. By selecting a location, you can house species which require similar enclosure designs and husbandry, which may even interact in the wild. Species are far more likely to coexist harmoniously in captivity if their wild counterparts do the same! 

Selecting a specific location can inadvertently help keepers to avoid other issues. For example, it is generally considered that new world species (found in the Americas) should never be housed with old world species (those found across the rest of the world). Not only would these species never naturally interact with one and other, but the feather dander produced by old world species can be detrimental to the respiratory health of other species, especially if housed indoors. 

Australian birds are among those most commonly available in the UK trade, and most commonly the subject of mixed enclosures. Species such as cockatiels, budgies, and zebra finches could potentially be housed together. 

Diet: Birds which eat together stay together- or something to that effect! Whilst this may sound a little odd, the diet of the birds you wish to house could make or break your plans. 

Look at the natural diet of the different species you would like to keep, as well as the recommended captive diet. Are they all similar? Will you have to cater for several different diet types, or can all your birds share the same foods? If they can share, it will make the daily husbandry far easier, but it could again mean they are more likely to interact in the wild, giving better chances for success in your aviary. 

Predatory species should never be kept with other species. Any bird which could potentially attempt to kill another for food should never be housed in a mixed aviary for obvious reasons. 

Beak size: Perhaps more important than the overall size of the birds themselves (although small species may find the presence of even the most peaceful large birds stressful), beak size and type are vital considerations. Besides birds of prey, the beak is the ‘danger zone’ of many species, capable of inflicting significant injury. 

The rule of thumb here is that hookbills (including parakeets and parrots) should not be kept alongside species such as finches. The two groups have vastly different beak shapes and sizes, and also different diets. There are some exceptions to this generalised rule, with many keepers taking some risk with housing smaller, peaceful hookbills (such as budgies and other small parakeets) with finches. 

Larger hookbills- amazons, African greys, macaws, etc.- are usually only ever housed with others of the same species. Even housing similarly sized large birds together is likely to lead to stress, serious injury, expensive vet bills, and potentially even death. As a result, this is not something I would ever recommend, even for the most experienced keeper.

Sexes and breeding: The sexes of your birds is more important to consider than you may expect. From our experiences, we have found females to cause the most trouble with other birds, usually resulting from jealously. This leads me to the point of breeding. During the breeding season behaviours can change, and aggression may become more prominent, even to the point of physical injuries. As a result, breeding should be carefully controlled in a mixed species aviary, or even totally discouraged. It is also worth noting that a single-sex aviary is unlikely to cure any conflict, with birds instead becoming frustrated and stressed. 

If you do decide to breed, there will be additional elements to consider: 

• Nesting sites- to breed successfully the birds will need a sheltered, comfortable place to nest. Nest boxes are commonly used, and these must be situated in such a way that conflict is avoided. You will need to carefully locate the nest boxes, whilst ensuring you have more boxes than breeding pairs 

• Diet changes- breeding birds may need to have changes to their diet, such as increased supplementation or protein intake. How will you ensure this can be provided? 

• Hybridisation- closely related species can interbreed to create hybrids. Whilst this is sometimes done deliberately, and can even occur in the wild, this is something most keepers should try to avoid. The easiest ways to avoid hybridisation are to house closely related species separately, or house only one sex. The latter is not a method I would recommend 

Of course, each of these considerations are simply ways we can reduce the chances of issues occurring in our aviaries. Using these selection methods is far from fool-proof and can often rely on the individual birds and their personalities. 

Flighted and non-flighted species- 

A mixed species aviary favourite is to house flighted birds with non-flighted or terrestrial species. Often finches are housed alongside quail. When housing these types of birds together you may wish to consider these points: 

• Terrestrial species may become stressed by others flying above them especially larger species. Selecting appropriately sized species will help to reduce this stress. A sheltered area will also allow the terrestrial species to seek refuge. Shrubs can be used in the aviary to achieve a similar goal in a natural way 

• When flighted birds fledge the nest, they may end up on the floor. Here they will be at risk of injury from the ground birds. If you plan to breed, how will you ensure fledglings remain safe? 

Birds and other animals- 

There is a list a mile long of reasons this is rarely a good idea! Just a few of these include stress, disease transfer, and injury risk. Some websites will happily recommend keeping birds with terrestrial mammals and reptiles, such as rabbits, guinea pigs and tortoises. Birds are messy animals, whose food and waste will end up scattered across the aviary floor, giving the other animals a very poor quality of life. 

If this hasn’t put you off (and seriously, I wouldn’t recommend it!) never house large hookbills with any other animals, the risk of injury for both species is just too high. 

Tried and tested species combinations- 

Before I continue with this section, it is worth reiterating once again that individuals of the same species can behave very differently to each other in a mixed species aviary. Similarly, just because a setup worked for one person, doesn’t mean it will work for you too. Hopefully throughout this guide you will have seen that a mixed species aviary requires more than hope and luck! 

In our current aviary we house 7 different species together successfully. Each of these was carefully selected following the guidance above, my own species research, and through researching the collections of others. Our Australian themed collection is home to the following species: 

Zebra Finches 

Gouldian Finches 

Hecks Grass Finches 

Red Faced Parrot Finches 

Owl Finches 

Kakariki 

Japanese Quail 

In the past we have also kept the following mixes, with varying degrees of success: 

We have had issues with some species in mixed aviaries, often as a result of an individual’s behaviour. 

• Budgies- generally budgies are considered a peaceful species, ideal for housing with other birds. We had kept budgies with a variety of other birds for several years, such as Zebra Finches, until we encountered our first issue. A female budgie had not reproduced and had become jealous of the Zebra Finches we had at the time. Unfortunately, one of our fledglings was seriously injured by her as a result and the budgies were immediately separated. We have not kept budgies in a mixed aviary since 

• Japanese Quail- quail are quite brutal when it comes to mating, which has caused us issues previously after a finch fledgling was trampled. Since the incident, we have decided to house only male quail, which have become far more docile as a result, and have not caused any further injury to another species 

• Red Rumped Parakeet- after initially housing our red rump pair separately from our other species we decided to trial them with our other birds. We soon observed signs of aggression; however, this was unexpectedly between the male and female, not any other species. It appeared to again be a result of jealously, and the pair were quickly removed 

You can find out more about our birds and how we manage our aviary by checking out our social media channels, @alis_menagerie and @alis.aviary on Instagram and Facebook.

Disclaimer- Ali's Menagerie accepts no responsibility for any issues caused by following the guidance in this blog. Mixing species can be dangerous if not correctly planned and carried out, and every bird and every species reacts differently. I would highly recommend taking your proposed list of species to someone who keeps a similar collection together and get their vital experience from doing it first-hand. Furthermore, this guide is not a substitute for your own careful planning.