I have a friend that breeds Galah's and they are delightful birds. They are friendly, cuddly, and all of the other cockatoo behaviors rolled up together, with just a little less crazy. His may not be typical from others as he hand feeds from day 1 instead of letting the parents do it. They get a ton of human interaction from the day they hatch. I took care of a friend's female rose-breasted for a weekend after she was attacked by the male. She just wanted to be held and comforted. When she recovered, she wouldn't give me the time of day.
During my occasional shifts at a local bird store, I deal with M2's, umbrella's and goffins. I never have any physical contact with the M2's. They are BIG birds and this one stays in his cage while he's boarding with us. He's as loud as the hyacinth macaw that comes in once in a while. We have a resident umbrella that I never turn my back on. He is known for jumping on people and just hanging on. You can never tell when he's going to bite. He's had a hard life with some abuse in the past. I just give him space and try not to have much physical interaction with him. We had an umbrella chick that was just a riot. He was a total cuddle bug with an amazing personality. We all missed him when he went home. For me, the crazy ones are the goffins. They are unpredictable. One guy brings his female in during the day, and she's very sweet. Another we have is just crazy. She will jump on you and just sit there. Other times she will jump and bite before you can even react. Sometimes she steps up and just chatters away like you're her best friend, and other times she will scream like she wants your death. In any case, they all have loud voices and big personalities.
It's a good thing to ask a ton of questions if you're going to take one in. I know for certain that there is someone in my area that flips birds. They talk the owner into giving them up with promises of better care, they can handle the big birds, they have tons of experience, etc.... the birds are quickly sold for cash and shipped out of state. If the owner doesn't know the very basics about the bird, then I wouldn't even bother.
