Talking is the feature that draws a lot of people initially into parrots and that’s why many of them always want a ‘talking’ parrot. And you can well imagine that. Quite frequently, talking parrots are funny and a large part of YouTube is reserved for parrots telling some jokes and making other funny statements.
However, how does a species of bird be capable of such a thing, and do they in one way or another comprehend language? And which kind of parrot is thought to be the best at mimicking speech?
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Birds Love to Vocalise
Any Veterinary doctor or bird keeper will know that almost all the birds have their own ways of expressing themselves through vocalisations. If you have ever witnessed the dawn chorus you can imagine the numerous garden birds singing, communicating, tweeting, screeching and declaring at such a delightful dawn.
Birds sing for many reasons such as, staking claims over a piece of territory, finding a mate, intimating that other birds are unwelcome in their territory, to scare off enemies, communicating with their young ones and for many more other reasons. It is universal for virtually most avian species including wild parrots.
But why is it some birds talk, and others don’t?
Birds, most especially those with the ability to talk, are social creatures that reside in flocks, and this is not by chance. NSUserDefaults have to distinguish which members are in their category and which one are not since the ones not belonging to the category are likely to be thieves cheating on resources such as food or even women.
In this regard, the smarter birds and parrots are very smart have developed an enhanced ability of mimicking other flocks or groups ‘tags’ – short vocal expressions other birds make. It helps them be outsiders who are part of that flock and not be chased away as competition to the flock.
This has taken millions of years, and as a result, parrots have developed fascinating skills to imitate each other and other sounds they happen to notice. However, natural or wild parrots and especially those kept ones that are so far only few generations away from the wild parrots cannot but hear people speaking when they are being taken care of or living with human families. As a result, imitate this as other parrots do within the company of their fellow flock members.
Therefore, to talk, sadly parrots mimic their voices based on the sounds they hear. They are almost always fake, and no matter how good or convincing they seem, they do not speak English!
Which Parrots are the Best Talkers?
Do you know the talking skills of parrots? Let me tell you that the best ones are the Talking Africans greys Parrots. African Greys have a particularly unnatural talent of mimicking and replicating human sounds and despite this, people are convinced that the parrots do comprehend language.
Indeed, African Greys are able to memorize around 1,000 words or even more and gain the ability to apply those words in the proper context. One cannot but pay tribute to the great intelligence of these parrots.
But, others are; in fact, many other varieties of parrots are also good talkers besides the African gray parrot. If trained properly for instance, the Amazon parrots for example, can mimic about 300 words and phrases then the Indian Ring Neck Parakeet which has a maximum capacity for about 250 words and phrases. Due to the high quality of its speech, which is quite clear, the Eclectus Parrot is among the most demanded species.
Training your Parrot to Talk
Teaching your parrot to talk is not really up to impossible however, much care should be taken in the process not to stress the bird and to ensure that the bird responds to the command.
The first and the foremost activity that needs to be done involves spending some time with the pet in your company so that the two of you can develop some form of trust that can be deemed necessary for the activity to be done. It is all about forming a friendly relationship with just one person, and making sure it is you that the bird wants to be friendly with.
One more thing that contributes to this issue is the fact that all birds are intelligent, parrots in particular have different personalities. Some might discuss before they even think, or be friendly and talkative. The other birds will be intimidated. Despite it not being exceedingly quick to learn and often shy, there is no doubt that your bird will be able to speak with time and consistency. Thus, it is recommended to apply the following precautions even if your parrot, right from the start, seems to be a shy and silent one: Continue the procedure sensitively and the bird, once it finds itself confident enough, will soon start talk.
After you’ve bonded with your bird, follow these simple tips to encourage your parrot to speak:After you’ve bonded with your bird, follow these simple tips to encourage your parrot to speak:
- There is extensive evidence that parrots are able to learn through rote repetition; therefore only expressing the words you desire the parrot to say will prompt the most successful learning.
- The first words to use should be basic words like hello, goodbye or even your name if you are not sure if your parrot will be able to figure out how they are said and practice them over and over again with your parrot until you are able to train your parrot to recite what you have taught him.
- Always vary the pitch and ensure the tone is cheerful because this will help in attracting your pet’s attention as compared to when you are dull or boring.
- Perhaps it will be possible to devote some time every day to training, since training means better results than training occasionally.
- Do not ‘overburden’ your parrot with a range of words you wish it to mimic. Start elaborating on only a few words at first while they mimic you, to ensure that they understand what you are saying.
- Use foods which can be used to bait your bird and use these foods when he or she pronounces the specific words well but do not give in to over feeding and ensure to check on the weight of your bird so that training is not health hazardous.
Finally, as it is closely connected with the previous statement, you should not name your bird using such terms as men/women, boys/girls because a bird does not understand the difference between proper public language and what is not proper.
Once you start training your bird to talk, should your bird be interested in doing so, the bird may move on, learn even more words and phrases that members of your family and you use in day to day lives and end up with a huge list.
Another budgie even learned than a thousand, seven hundred and one words at some point in its lifetime, and it was crowned the world’s most ‘Talksative’ bird!
Socially mature and healthy parrots are indeed great pets that are actually intelligent to learn to speak making them even more member of the own flock.
When done rightly, it will increases your extent of attachment with your feathered companion and the joy you will find with him/her for all the years you will spend together.
