If I'm not mistaken, Sylphie, my ARN probably came through TheFinchFarm. Now, I haven't confirmed this... but what I do know is that Sylphie is a wild caught African Ringneck. She was imported May of 2013. There are only two (three?) companies that sell wild caught or imported parrots. She did not come from Bird Express. From what little I know, TheFinchFarm does sell imported birds.
I have gotten two birds "online".... through bird forums. The first is Charlie, my mitred conure. This was back when another bird forum was around (since extinct). A member lived 2.5-ish hours away and had, what she thought, was the same species as my first conure. She offered him to me because she figured that he would do better in a home with a bird his size and despite being one of her smaller parrots (she had/has macaws and amazons!!!) he was the loudest! Plus, he was a foster, taken in temporarily to get him out of a pet store that was also "fostering" him. They thought he was about 10 years old then, but he was actually 12. Well, he's 25 this year and he's first gen captive bred! His parents were (are?) wild caught imports that his breeder only bred once. (considering noise - no surprise! LOL) I actually took a bus down, stayed for a night or two, then had a friend drive us back up.
The second? Jayde, my little red throated conure. She came from another member of this forum and was shipped Delta. She was supposed to get here within a day but it actually took longer than expected because she got delayed in another state due to the heat. I wish I could have picked her up but back then it was out of the question to drive all the way to where she was at. Heck, even though Jayde is no longer with us, I'd still would love to make that drive! I really do need to get out that way, for at least a couple of reasons! Like Charlie, Jayde was taken in as a foster. Also like Charlie, she was a noisy little thing!!! Charlie still louder, though!
Jayde was the first bird that I could physically see have a clear preference for one gender over another... and not only that, but also an age thing! She preferred older women (aka "grandmotherly" type) over young ones. I'm 'young'. She didn't care for any of my (female) family members (including my grandmother) but then they aren't bird people. Jayde did fall for "Auntie K", a member of the local bird club. She definitely has the 'grandmother' look to her! After Jayde bit her on the nose, she decided that "Auntie K" was the bees knees! And screamed at me on the ride back home after having to separate Jayde from her! But once home, she was fine with me again! Miss the little booger!
Jayde Update | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum