Birds as Royal Navy shipboard pets

What bird was most commonly kept as a pet aboard Royal Navy ships?

Parrots and budgerigars both appear, depending on period, but bird pets were comparatively uncommon.

There is no timeless answer for the most common bird kept aboard Royal Navy ships. Parrots appear in the tradition, while budgerigars became common in at least one period. Birds were relatively rare as shipboard pets overall. This small piece of social history corrects the familiar image of every naval vessel carrying an exotic talking bird.