I have always found that my birds are much happier when they are in a well lit area. It can either be with natural lighting during the day and lamps in the evening, or if you don't have your cages near a window, I really like the daylight florescent bulbs. They last a long time and unlike the regular compact florescent bulbs, the "daylight" bulbs put off a much brighter light. The birds seem much more active.
To help the birds that have a lack of sunlight, I also get the reptile full spectrum lights and place the bulbs near the cage. The reason I get the 60 watt full spectrum reptile lights is the cost is much less than the ones you buy specifically for birds. The reason I only get the 60 watt is because it will be cool enough for any fixture and it is warm enough for the birds to "sun bathe" about 8 inches below. The birds gather there and fluff their feathers straight out and lay down. They look like they are at the beach sunning themselves. Its really funny to watch. Then when they have enough, they fly away from it. They love it!!
Another light issue I hear all the time is people saying their birds fly around in the dark when they turn off the lights at night. I always tell people to think of it this way. Nature does not turn off the Sun like a switch, so we should not expect our birds to adapt to this in our homes. The larger hook bill birds are usually fine to turn off the lights at once. However for my finches, I always turn off half of the lights in the room first, wait about 10 min, turn off a few more, and leave one light on, then wait another 10 min and turn that one off. If you can leave a night light in the room near the cage, thats fine too, but still follow this 20 min process. You will have less chance for injury of your little birds, who try to fly in the dark. Birds have trouble seeing at night and if they loose their perch at night, the night light will give them help finding their way back to where they want to sleep.
