What Birds Can You Legally Own in the UK? Pet Bird Laws, Licences & Costs (2026)

Most pet birds are completely legal to keep in the UK, with no licence and no paperwork. Budgies, cockatiels, canaries, finches, lovebirds, conures and even large parrots like African greys and macaws can all live in a British home perfectly lawfully.

If you've been searching "what birds can you own in the UK" and worrying you're about to fall foul of some hidden rule, you can relax — the law is far more permissive than most people expect. There are a handful of genuine exceptions and one important piece of paperwork for endangered species, and this guide walks through all of them in plain English.

The Short Answer

The UK works on what's often called a "negative list" approach: an animal is legal to keep unless a specific law says otherwise. For birds, very few laws apply, so the default is that you can own almost any species you like.

The three legal frameworks that can affect pet birds are the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (which lists only ostriches and cassowaries among birds), CITES trade rules (which govern buying and selling endangered species, not ownership), and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (which protects wild British birds and controls the release of non-native species).

Unless your bird is a giant flightless ratite, an endangered species you want to sell, or a British wild bird, none of these will stop you keeping it. For a broader picture of exotic pet law, see our guide to what pets are legal in the UK and the ones you can keep without any licence at all.

Birds You Can Keep Without a Licence

This is by far the biggest category — it covers nearly every bird sold in UK pet shops and by breeders. None of these needs a licence, registration, or council permission.

Small and beginner-friendly birds:

• Budgerigars — the classic first bird: sociable, hardy and capable of learning words.
• Cockatiels — gentle, whistling parrots with a big personality for their size.
• Canaries — prized for their song, and happy in a large flight cage.
• Lovebirds — small, bold and full of character.
• Finches — zebra finches, Bengalese finches and society finches thrive in planted flight cages.

Medium and larger parrots (all legal, no licence):

• Conures — playful and affectionate, though loud.
• African grey parrots — famously intelligent talkers (note the Article 10 rule for selling, below).
• Amazon parrots, macaws and cockatoos — large, long-lived and demanding, but entirely legal to own.

The important point is that keeping any of these is lawful regardless of how exotic or expensive the species is. A blue-and-gold macaw is no less legal to own than a budgie. What changes with the rarer parrots is the paperwork the seller needs, not your right to keep the bird.

Whichever end of that scale you're drawn to, the real first commitment isn't legal — it's the cage. For the larger parrots it's a serious piece of furniture, and this is the one we'd buy today:

Illustrative imageOur pick · checked July 2026ADYaheetech African Grey Parrot CageA heavy-duty metal home on wheels with a play-top perch and feeder cups — the size and build a large parrot actually needs.Available at Amazon →

The Only Birds That Need a DWA Licence

There is exactly one situation where a pet bird triggers a licence: large ratites. Under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, the ostrich and the cassowary are the only birds on the schedule. Both are big, powerful and genuinely capable of injuring a person, which is why they sit alongside big cats and venomous snakes.

If you wanted to keep one of these, you'd apply to your local council for a DWA licence, which typically costs £200-£500 and requires the authority to be satisfied that your enclosure is secure, the public is not at risk, and you hold appropriate liability insurance. As GOV.UK confirms, this applies specifically to birds "classed as dangerous and wild" — in practice, only the ostrich and cassowary.

For almost everyone reading this, that's academic. No pet parrot, no matter how large, needs a DWA licence. If you're curious how the licensing regime works more generally, our UK exotic pet legal guide breaks down the whole system, and the pet regulations hub summarises every framework at a glance.

CITES and the Article 10 Certificate

This is the part that catches buyers out — so it's worth understanding clearly.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) regulates the trade in endangered animals. It does not ban you from owning them. In the UK, the species of greatest concern are listed under Annex A, and the flagship example among pet birds is the African grey parrot, which was moved to CITES Appendix I (Annex A in UK/EU law) on 4 February 2017.

Here's what that means in practice:

So you can legally own and keep an African grey with no certificate of your own. But if you ever buy, sell, breed for sale, or display an Annex A bird, an Article 10 certificate from DEFRA is required to prove it was legally sourced. The GOV.UK guidance on selling wild birds sets out the detail, and each individual bird must also be permanently marked — usually with a closed leg ring or a microchip — to match its certificate.

Practical advice: when buying any Annex A parrot (African grey, Timneh grey, hyacinth macaw, Lear's macaw, palm cockatoo, and several Amazons), always ask the seller for the Article 10 certificate and the bird's ring or microchip number. A reputable breeder will produce it without hesitation. If they can't, walk away — the bird may have been illegally imported, which is bad for the bird and a legal risk for you. Our exotic bird diet guide covers what to do once you've brought your new parrot home — starting with the diet an avian vet would actually put it on:

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Wild and Native Birds: The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

The one hard rule almost everyone should know: you cannot take a wild British bird from the wild and keep it. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to take, kill or possess a wild bird, its eggs or its nest, with only narrow exceptions.

That's why you'll never see native British species like robins, blackbirds, goldfinches or barn owls sold as ordinary pets. Captive-bred birds of some native species can be kept legally, but they must be close-ringed (fitted with a seamless ring as a chick) to prove they were bred in captivity and not taken from the wild. The RSPB's summary of the Act is a clear reference if you want the conservation background.

For the pet keeper, the takeaway is simple: buy captive-bred birds from a reputable source, and never be tempted to "rescue" a wild fledgling into a cage. If you find a genuinely sick or injured wild bird, contact the RSPCA rather than keeping it yourself.

Schedule 4: Birds You Must Register

A small group of birds — mostly birds of prey such as goshawks — sit on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. If you keep a Schedule 4 bird, you must register it with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and fit it with a closed ring or microchip, as set out in the GOV.UK Schedule 4 registration guidance. Keeping an unregistered, unmarked Schedule 4 bird is a criminal offence.

This is a specialist area, mainly relevant to falconers, and it's the reason serious raptor keeping is a licensed hobby rather than a casual one. If a "bird of prey experience" or breeder ever offers you a hawk or owl, ask about its Schedule 4 registration and ring number before anything else. For everyone keeping cage and aviary birds, Schedule 4 simply doesn't apply.

Birds You Must Not Release

There's one more rule that concerns the environment rather than ownership. Under section 14 and Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, it is an offence to release or allow to escape into the wild any non-native bird that could establish itself and cause harm. Species associated with these controls include the sacred ibis, the monk (Quaker) parakeet and the Egyptian goose.

This doesn't necessarily stop you keeping such a bird — but it places a legal duty on you to make sure it never gets loose. In the case of the monk parakeet, keepers in England have faced specific control measures because escaped birds form damaging wild colonies. The Non-Native Species Secretariat publishes current guidance if you're considering a species with escape restrictions.

The bottom line: keep any bird securely, and never deliberately release a pet bird "to give it freedom" — it's illegal, and a hand-reared bird released outside will usually die.

What Keeping a Bird Actually Costs

Legality is only half the decision. The bigger commitment for most owners is time, space and money — and bird costs vary enormously by species.

On top of the bird itself, budget for a proper cage — the single most important purchase. A budgie needs the biggest flight cage you can fit, while a parrot needs a heavy-duty enclosure that runs anywhere from £100 to £1,000 (our pick is above, in the no-licence section).

A healthy diet is more than a seed scoop. Small birds do well on a quality seed mix topped up with fresh veg, but every avian vet will tell you the gold standard is a formulated pellet base — the Harrison's pellets we recommend above cover budgies and parrots alike.

Every bird also needs a cuttlefish bone for calcium and beak conditioning — a pound or two that saves a fortune in vet bills:

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Prefer one list to forty open tabs? We keep hand-vetted, UK-stock-checked setups on the BritExotics Amazon storefront — a dedicated bird kit is on its way.

Realistically, ongoing care runs from a few pounds a week for a budgie to £1,500-£3,500 a year for a large parrot once you factor in food, enrichment and vet visits. A cockatoo or macaw can also outlive you — these are 40-to-60-year commitments, not impulse buys.

Health, Welfare and Avian Vets

Owning a bird legally is one thing; keeping it well is another, and the two are linked. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 places a legal duty on every keeper to meet their animal's needs — suitable diet, environment, companionship and the ability to behave naturally. For flock birds like budgies and cockatiels, that often means keeping them in pairs rather than alone.

Foot health is part of that legal duty too, and it's the one new keepers miss: the smooth plastic dowels that come with most cages cause pressure sores. Swapping in natural branches of varying thickness is the cheapest welfare upgrade there is:

Illustrative imageOur pick · checked July 2026ADOkllen Natural Wood Perch Set of 8Varying-diameter natural branches keep feet healthy and prevent pressure sores — swap them in for the smooth dowels that come with most cages.Available at Amazon →

Birds are also masters at hiding illness, so subtle changes matter. Watch for fluffed-up feathers, tail-bobbing when breathing, a change in droppings, sitting on the cage floor, or loss of appetite — any of these warrants a same-day call to a vet. Our guide to budgie health problems explains the most common warning signs and what they mean.

Crucially, not every vet treats birds. Avian medicine is a specialism, so it's worth finding an experienced exotic or avian vet before you need one. Our directory lets you find an RCVS-registered exotic vet near you, and our walkthrough on how to find an avian vet in the UK explains what to look for. If your bird collapses, bleeds or struggles to breathe, don't wait — use our 24/7 emergency vet finder straight away.

Finally, if you're weighing up a bird against a more unusual pet, our guide on whether you can own a toucan in the UK covers one of the more exotic ends of legal bird-keeping — and yes, it's another one you can find a vet for here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Thinking of getting a bird? Choose a captive-bred bird from a reputable source, ask for an Article 10 certificate if it's an Annex A species, and line up an avian vet before you bring it home. Find an RCVS-registered exotic vet today, and for any sudden illness use our 24/7 emergency vet finder.

More guides: What Pets Are Legal in the UK · Exotic Pets You Can Keep Without a Licence · How to Find an Avian Vet in the UK