Looks aren't everything

When it comes to birds, this is especially true. Each bird is an individual, with its own personality. Two birds of the same species, that look virtually identical, can have totally different attitudes and behavior.

This was driven home to me, thinking about my cockatiel, Willie. Willie was a plain cockatiel, i.e. a "normal grey". And to be perfectly honest it took some time for me to realize how special and wonderful he was. I was hung up on looks and wishing he was one of the many flashy breeds. Thinking about this, I feel so shallow and stupid. Willie was a wonderful bird that would run up on my shoulder and let me scratch his head. He had plenty of spunk too.
You don't know what you've got until it is gone.

I don't know if all people are like me, but when I get to know an animal (or person), I pretty much forget what they look like and appreciate them for their attitudes, behaviors (actions), and in the case of humans, their words.

This is one of the errors of wanting to "replace" a lost bird. You may be able to find a bird that looks just the same, and if you only ever looked at "the bird in the cage" be pleased. Just describing that situation bothers me. What a pity for both the bird and the person. Each creature is an individual, and one will never "replace" another. The first large parrot I owned was a blue front amazon, and I lost him (her?) after 9 years. I now have another blue front amazon and the two birds could not be more different