Do you have a bird you bought especially because you heard these birds can talk? Are you frustrated because your bird seems to get no further than a wolf whistle or “pretty bird”?

You may be relieved to learn that you are not alone! Not all pet birds are capable of mimicking speech. Many others have the potential but must be carefully trained.

Choosing the Right Bird:

When you choose a bird in hopes of him speaking to you, be aware that there are variations on every “rule.” Birds are individuals. It can not be guaranteed a bird can talk unless you already hear him talking!

It is widely accepted that male birds mimic human speech more easily than a female bird. However it can be quite difficult to determine sex of very young birds, so if you wish to be sure you can train one to talk you may prefer to consult a breeder.

You must also be aware that a pet bird who can talk is often also a noisy bird. Many animal lovers will pay enormous amounts of money to get an exotic type of parrot and then find themselves wanting to return them because they just can’t stand the decibel level! If you have neighbors living close by, they will probably appreciating your choosing the smaller birds of the parrot family.

The pet birds commonly known to talk or mimic human speech are:

1. African Greys

2. Amazons

3. Budgies - Parakeets

4. Cockatiels

5. Indian Ringneck Parakeets

6. Quaker Parrots

7. Mynah Birds

As a side note, there are cockatoos who can be trained to talk, but they are generally known as a breed that are difficult to train and whose speech is not easily understood if they are. They are not normally selected for speech potential.

There are also instances of talking conures but they are not the norm.

Cockatiels and budgies do not have the thinking caps of the rest of the parrot family, and normally require much more determination, repetition and time to train. My own cockatiel can wolf whistle with the best of them (to my chagrin and amusement of passersby). He is beginning on “pretty bird” but so far his attempts at vocalization seem to be merely raising and dropping his voice. Sometimes he mutters and sounds quite annoyed but I can’t tell what he is talking about! Perhaps he is mimicking my chiding!

Training the Parakeet or Cockatiel to Talk:

Let’s begin with the most difficult birds to train, your parakeet or cockatiel.

Whistling tones are the easiest for your little bird to imitate. Let’s start with those. To get the idea across to the bird, you can not simply play a tape. They need the interaction with you and to understand this is how to speak with you.

Approach the bird‘s cage and spend some time with your bird repeating the whistle you want him to perfect. A wolf whistle seems to be the easiest. It can take several days or even weeks to get the idea across. But you’ll find you enjoy the communication with your pet. And think of how great you’ll feel when your efforts are successful!

At one time I used to pet-sit for a neighbor when they took out of town vacations. They had several budgies, and whenever I would enter the house I chuckled because all of them would wolf-whistle at me at once. Think of how beautiful I felt!

Now that your budgie or cockatiel has mastered the whistle, you’ll want to move on to real words. Remember that these birds are not as adept at diction as their larger more developed relatives. The trade-off is that they aren’t as loud! When I first inherited my cockatiel, he screamed bloody murder for days. I was afraid I would have to acquire earplugs! My Corky had come from an aviary where he lived with several parrots. Thankfully, he got over that screaming habit as he settled in and calmed down. My distress was over in just a few days.

Your parakeet or cockatiel will not usually speak precisely, but you can tell what he is trying to say. Exaggerate your tone of voice to him. Spend at least fifteen or twenty minutes a day repeating simple phrases or words you want him to say. These birds will not speak entire sentences the way you may have heard a parrot do. Stick with simple words and phrases like “pretty bird” or “cracker” -- you will not hear the precise pronunciation you might hear from an African Grey, but just think -- you did not have to come up with the price of an African Grey either!

Again, a tape will not do. You want to communicate with your bird one-on-one so he gets the idea this is how to get a message across. If you are persistent, he will reward you by one day starting the conversation!

The Larger Parrots:

African Greys, Amazons, and Quaker Parrots can be quite amazing in their speech proficiency. They have greater cognitive ability than their smaller relatives, and many times they will pick up your speech patterns on their own. Many parrot owners have learned to be careful!

If you want your parrot to learn specific words and phrases, you should begin teaching them early. Most sources recommend to start from the beginning of your relationship with the bird. Make it a friendly experience. These pets can learn from tapes, but you want to establish a rapport with your bird and make this a pleasant situation for him. Soon he will be delighting you and your friends and family with his cheerful patter.

While these birds can also learn from each other, it is best to train one bird at a time and develop a relationship with him. You and your pet will find this training time together meaningful for both of you. Remember that this is his special communication with you, and this is why you chose this bird to be your friend and pet.

Mynah Birds:

When choosing a mynah bird, you must be aware that although some of these birds have the clearest diction of any breed, they are very messy. You may want to remove your Mynah to a separate porch of the house.

The mynah is quite famous for being able to develop quite a large vocabulary, although you will probably never hear a complete sentence and only phrases.

Mynah birds unfortunately can have quite a piercing whistle and you want to discourage whistling in this breed. If you can teach him words and phrases in a lower tone it will probably be more musical to your ears and to everyone else’s!

Twenty or thirty minute sessions with these birds will probably be most successful in teaching them to mimic.

At some point, many mynahs may also pick up phrases or words you repeat often all by themselves.

Can My Bird Think About What He’s Saying?

There are talking birds that can seem to eerily think for themselves and come up with their own phrases. These birds can be of high intelligence. They do have their own apparent thought process and cognitive ability, but normally can not carry on a long conversation with you without repeating themselves.

Enjoy Your Pet!

In conclusion, remember when you go to choose your pet bird, there can be no guarantee that he will talk unless he has been previously taught. Try not to base your pride in pet ownership on that ability alone. Enjoy your bird! They are great company regardless of their conversational skills.