Choosing and Training a Pet Bird to Talk

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.