By Saba Junaid
One of the major things you should know about owning a parrot is that most of the species have the major talent to imitate human sounds. Actually in the wild, birds are known to be agile communicators. They use unique sounds to identify and bond with their flock. Over the years, they have been using advanced communication skills to help flock mates stay in touch while migrating over oceans, hunting in dense forests and scanning the sky for predators. But coming to how some parrots are known to talk- is it something that all parrots can imitate? In spite of their popular image as masters of wit, repartee and pieces-of-eight, not all parrots learn to talk. They are always vocal, but you need to put in time and effort to transform some of that chatter into recognisable human ‘speech’. Catching them young is the trick, but even then they need to be bombarded with human sounds on a daily basis. Even that isn’t a guarantee – a noisy household will sometimes inspire a parrot to make his own version of busy background noise, which isn’t always pleasing on the ear! If your household noise is less about screaming kids and more about single voices talking calmly, you’re in with a very good chance of a talking bird.
As it turns out, some species of birds have an amazing talent for vocalizations. If you have one of these species, you might feel eager to teach it to talk but not know how to get started. The natural mimics of the family will be more inclined to latch onto human speech. Larger species in this category include the African Greys, some of the Amazons (notably the Double Yellow-headed and the Yellow-naped), Eclectus Parrots and Indian Ring-necked Parakeets. If you want a talking Macaw, the Blue-and-gold is a good bet, and of the Cockatoos, the Bare-eyed and Rose-breasted appear to have the most to say.
So how do you begin the whole vocalization stage? Pet birds learn words associated with things they want most readily. Name foods you feed your pet bird, for example. Start teaching it the difference between “banana,” “apple” and “orange” or between “seed” and “nut.” You can do this with your pet bird even if it does not answer. When your pet bird starts making a sound or intonation remotely like one of these words, give it the food item as a reward and say the word you think it is saying.
Once you have locked onto a word that your feathered friend is interested in, repeat the word to it as often as you possibly can. Parrots learn to mimic through repetition—so saying the word over and over again is the only way to encourage your bird to say it back.Parrots also learn words that you say enthusiastically very easily, that’s why a pet bird may repeat an exclamation or foul language after hearing it only once, while ignoring the polite word you are trying to teach it. It’s amazing how many pet birds can say “shut up,” “be quiet” or “ouch.”
Humans have to learn to crawl before they walk and similarly, birds have to learn to trust before they talk. Anything you can do to build and strengthen your relationship with your pet will make it more inclined to want to communicate with you. When it comes to bonding with birds, the goal is to get them to associate you with something positive. This could be a treat, head scratches or verbal praise, like greeting the bird in a high-pitched, sing-song voice. You want to be seen as a provider of good experiences so the bird is encouraged to interact with you. The wonderful thing about talking is that it is an experience you can share with your parrot no matter what level of tameness it is. Parrots are vocal and social. Use those traits to start interacting in a positive way with an untamed parrot. It will probably make you feel better about your pet bird. Talk across the room, name treats for it and talk to it as you enter and exit the room. Singing with your parrot doesn’t require tameness. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you have a musical voice!
