"Starter pet." My blood freezes whenever I encounter that phrase. "Starter" to me suggests "practice" - something not quite real, permanent or important, a rough draft, a laboratory for trial and error, disposable, replaceable.... Do we talk about a "starter marriage" or "starter children"? The whole concept falls somewhere between troubling and obscene. True, there are species whose size and temperament make them problematic choices for people with little or no bird experience, and that's what I thought the question meant about "types of birds." The popularity of 'Rio' may cause a spike in demand for Macaws, e.g., just as Baretta did for cockatoos a generation ago, so perhaps it's worth pointing out the difficulties associated with those particular genera. 

But then the points made by Elizabeth and Vinny kick in with full force. ALL birds have qualities that make them more difficult to care for adequately and integrate comfortably into human households than, say, dogs and cats, who have adapted to domestic cohabitation over thousands of generations. With the partial exception of King Pigeons and other poultry species, caged birds (especially parrots!) are still essentially wild animals. The conditions in which we keep them are foreign to their nature and needs to the point where they grade into cruelty. Birds need excercise; they are designed to fly and have a profound desire to do so; yet they are often confined to small cages. Parrots and most bird species are flock animals and crave the constant company of others; yet they often are kept as single animals, isolated, and deprived of attention for most of the time. 

People often have the misconception that birds are relatively simple creatures, simple minded, content to stay in a small cage with a mirror and bell, living a circumscribed life as remote and easy to care for as in an aquarium. In fact they are deeply emotional and highly intelligent animals(parrots have cognitive abilities equal to those of Primates and Cetaceans). They need activity, mental stimulation, emotional attention and social interaction. When those needs are not met, when they are deprived or neglected, they suffer in ways only intelligent creatures do and can quickly become hard for their human companions to manage or sometimes even tolerate. 

Smaller does not mean simpler, dumber, or cheaper. The bird with the largest recorded vocabulary was a budgie (almost 1,800 words at the time of Puck's death at age 4. Budgies self-mutilate too). Birds get sick and injured; avian veterinary care is no less expensive (and often much harder to find) than care for other animals. 

Birds can make wonderful companions. But they are demanding and need a great deal of attention and care - certainly no less than a dog or cat, in reality probably a lot more. You shouldn't get one casually or on impulse. If you're seriously interested, educate yourself on their needs and personalities. The best way is to avail yourself of the classes and resource guides offered by rescue groups such as Mickaboo.

Matt - I'm sure that whatever you say in that interview will come from the heart and will be awesome and apt. Good luck, and thank you so much!!