The Who, Why And How of Parrot Talking

Jessica Meyers of Texas has a blue-fronted Amazon parrot that likes to sit in his cage and carry on a phone conversation by himself. “He’ll start out with ‘Hello’ and ‘I’m doing fine,’ say some ‘Uh-huhs’ and an ‘Oh, really?’ and end with ‘Bye-bye. Talk to you later.’ He goes through this whole dialogue a couple of times every day – usually after he hears the phone ring,” Meyers related.

Courtesy Heather Strella, California
African grey parrots are known as one of the best talking parrot species.

Benny, an umbrella cockatoo owned by Ron Gorski of Michigan, frequently tells Gorski’s two young sons to “Be quiet!” and “Stop that!” at the appropriate times – when the boys are arguing or rough-housing and being too noisy.

Avian veterinarian Gregory Burkett, DVM, of North Carolina, has an African grey parrot named Candy with a vocabulary of 700 words. She speaks in sentences, responds to questions, greets people with their name and makes requests for food – especially when she sees other people eating.

Some parrots are more into singing than talking. Virginia aviculturist Kashmir Csaky lives with several macaws that hum or sing such tunes as “Let’s Go To The Hop,” “Mellow Yellow,” “Happy Birthday” and “Jingle Bells.” They also like to sing the “Tequila” song. “Even if just one of the macaws is singing by itself, the other birds will all chime in and yell ‘Tequila!’ at the right time,” Csaky said.

There’s no doubt about it – parrots can certainly entertain, delight and even impress us with their vocal abilities. Sometimes it’s amazing just how many words they pick up or how clearly they speak. Other times we’re surprised by how they just happen to say the right thing at the right moment or respond correctly when we ask them questions.

Most bird behaviorists tell us that just about any parrot species has the potential for mimicking human speech. Some bird species are, however, more talented at mimicry than others. The top talkers overall – in terms of clarity and size of their vocabulary – are generally considered to be the African grey parrot and the yellow-naped, double yellow-headed and blue-fronted Amazon parrots.

Other parrots known for their talking abilities include macaws (especially the blue-and-gold macaw and hyacinth macaw), cockatoos (particularly the bare-eyed cockatoo and slender-billed cockatoo) and conures (most notably the blue-crowned conure). Indian ring-necked parakeets, Eclectus and budgerigars (parakeets) are also known to be good talkers. There are even a number of nonpsittacine birds that have this ability. The best known is the mynah bird. Others include the common grackle, crow, raven, blue jay and even the mockingbird.

Why Mimic Human Speech?
Companion birds learn to “speak human” for three main reasons: to try to fit in with their human “flock,” to communicate various types of messages and to seek attention from the people around them.

In the wild, parrots live in flocks, which provides them with a sense of security. They spend much of their waking hours calling out and talking to each other in “bird language” to stay in contact with each other, to notify each other of food sources, to warn each other of predators, to locate lost flock members and to make sure everyone is accounted for at the end of the day. Hearing the vocalizations of fellow flock members is very reassuring to wild parrots.

In captivity, a pet bird sees its owner and other humans in the household as its flock. Because everyone else in the household is “speaking human,” the pet bird will often imitate the language being spoken by the flock. “The pet bird wants to be part of the flock and will talk like the other flock members to be accepted as part of the group,” Dr. Burkett said.

Just like a wild parrot, your pet bird may vocalize to communicate particular messages to you. It may repeat certain phrases when it is hungry, to greet you when you get up in the morning or come home from work, to try to locate you when you are out of its sight or to warn you of predators when it sees something frightening.

More often than not, though, “pet parrots talk because they want attention,” according to biologist and parrot communication researcher Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D., author of The Alex Studies (Harvard University Press, 1999). “It doesn’t take long for your bird to learn that when it says ‘Hi,’ you’re right at its cage door and saying ‘Hi’ back.”

Aviculturist Steve Hartman of Ohio has a yellow-naped Amazon parrot that will immediately start talking whenever Hartman ignores it. “If I’m standing in front of its cage talking to someone else, it will start repeating actual parts of the conversation, just like a tape recorder,” Hartman related. “The bird sees me paying attention to someone who’s talking and figures that if it wants attention, it’s going to have to use words too.”

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Birmingham Zoo parrot recaptured; commenter says Vasa timed surrender to get …

Birmingham ZooVasa the Vasa Parrot is back in the hands of zoo keepers.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Birmingham Zoo keepers retrieved a trained talking parrot from a tree Sunday afternoon after spending most of the day trying to coax it out, reported Birmingham News writers Kent Faulk and William Thornton in a series of post reporting the pursuit effort.

Katrina Cade, the zoo’s vice president for marketing and media, said keepers employed a lift to get closer to the bird and pulled a tree branch near Vasa, a parrot who flew away on Saturday.

The online community avidly followed the exploits of Vasa, cheering the bird’s recovery and sharing amused comments. Read some of what people were saying:

• “Typical parrot planned it all out right down to surrendering to not
miss the Sunday dinner of seeds, nuts and the delicacy of worms. ” – tcarl

• “Thanks for the update on Vasa! There are many of us that actually care about parrots, and we were concerned the outcome would not be good. Vasa would not have lasted long if not captured.

“Hopefully, the zoo will take steps to try and avoid this situation from happening again.” — Cows R Us

• “Just glad it wasn’t a Lion, or Tiger.” — rwill5693

• “LOL LOL Seems if the parrot can talk they’d just ask him down..” — Bhamboost

• “O.K. Who left the cage open? – SABANTHEMAN

• “I wonder how long he had been planning the escape?” — bhamliberal

• “Har, har! ‘E’s on me shoulder, arrrrrrrrr!!!!” – AngryBiker

Parrot owners sought after talking bird found in garden

Mickey: Talking parrot needs reunited with owners.

The owners of an African grey parrot are being sought after he was found in a Lanarkshire garden.

The stray, who has been named Mikey, was found in North Biggar Road in Airdrie on Tuesday.

Mickey, who can say “hello”, is being looked after by the Scottish SPCA’s Lanarkshire animal rescue and rehoming centre.

Animal officer Gillian Boyle said: “Mickey is a friendly bird who is used to people so it’s very likely someone is missing their pet.

“It’s surprising how many stray parrots arrive in our care. They tend to escape when their owners are cleaning out their cages or letting them fly around a room.

“All it takes is for a door or window to be open and they’re off.”

Staff at the centre are hopeful that an ID number will reunite Mickey with his owner.

Ms Boyle added: “There is an identification ring on Mickey’s leg and its unique number will help us ensure anyone who comes forward is the owner.

“We hope someone recognises this beautiful bird as we’d really like to return Mickey home.”

Anyone with information about Mickey is being asked to call the Scottish SPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999.

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Cardiff man heartbroken after talking African Grey parrot goes missing

HEARTBROKEN Andrew Noyes has been left sick with worry since his beloved talking parrot escaped.

African Grey Alex – who says ‘Hello Alex’ and ‘Do you want a grape? – made its bid for freedom after its 47-year-old owner forgot to shut the back door when the bird was out of its cage.

The AWOL avian landed on the patio but when Andrew tried to grab his feathered friend he took to the skies.

Groundsman Andrew, a father of three, said: “I was cleaning him out and I took the feed dish out and he got out of the cage. Then he was just on his stand in the room.

“I went out in the kitchen to put some toast on and the back door was open.

“It’s been open before and he just looks on. I ran to shut it but he thought, ‘I’ll just a have a try out the back’ and he landed on the patio.

“I went to grab him but I slipped on the stairs outside and he went up in the air.”

Andrew has had the bird for two years. Before that it belonged to a friend for five. He had to get rid of it because the squawking played havoc with his tinnitus.

“My son Daniel’s in bits,” said Andrew. “I’ve never seen him so quiet. It’s terrible. I told him if he did not feel like school today I would pick him up.”

So far Andrew has had a few calls about Alex since his weekend escape.

“I had a text from a person who said they had seen him at Farmfoods in Ely. They said he was on a trolley.

“But I spoke to a woman inside and she said she had not seen anything. The woman sounded legit that contacted me this morning though.”

It is thought Alex is either seven or eight years old. The birds can live as old as 80.

“He talks and swears and says everything,” said Andrew, who lives in Yew Tree Close, Pentrebane, Cardiff.

“I say, ‘Hello Alex, get in your cage’ and he says it back to me. And when you come home with a pack of crisps he says, ‘Do you want a grape?’”

It has been reported as many as 20,000 wild parrots could be living in England, with the largest concentration around London and the South East.

The population boom has been put down to a series of mild winters and a lack of natural predators.

Wilmaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Wilma gone missin’

No, we’re not talkin’ Flintstones here.

Wilma, Bill Uris’ talking parrot from Henry Street in Saratoga Springs, has flown the coup again, reports Cyndie Wade, a Facebook friend from Warren County.

The Blue Amazon bird flew out Uris’ front door this week, and he seeks help in finding her in time for Christmas. The bird answers to Wilma. This is not the first time she escaped. She was found in May.

Wade wrote: “It’s far too cold out for a parrot right now. We need to find her. Please be on the lookout for WILMA. If seen call me at 744-2416 Immediately! Thanks!”

Get Up Close with Nature at the Library Today

Matt Edmonds has interest in every aspect of nature from the sub atomic particle to the cosmos. And since 2002, he has been imparting that passion to the community through his “Wonders of Nature” show.

The show allows the community to get a little closer to birds of prey, reptiles and other animals that exist in the outdoors around us. Edmonds will present his show at the Upper Tampa Bay Library today at 6pm. Owls, Snakes, hawks and other wildlife will be on display.

Here’s what Edmonds shared with Westchase Patch about his show and love for nature:

Patch: What can people expect at the show today?

Edmonds: Our show highlights and reinforces how beautiful the world is. We bring examples of animals you can see around you everyday without getting on an airplane. And we have them do the behaviors that help them survive in the wild. I don’t just hold the animals and talk about them. I have a owl, a hawk, a talking parrot, some flying parrots, a big python, a flying squireel and a gray squirel.

Patch: What was the first animal you owned?

Edmonds: Of course dogs and cats. But the first exoctic pet I owned was a snake.

Patch: You do “Parrot Consulting” what does this involve?

Edmonds: Parrots are very different than dogs. Many people who have a parrot, really dont understand their behavior, so I help them understand. Just because they fit through your door doesn’t mean they’re a good pet. So, I hlep people learn what parrots really are.

Patch: Some people consider birds of prey and the other animals you present to be a bit scary, what would you say is their true nature?

Edmonds: I guess that’s one of the things that is good about the show. If you think animals are scary maybe you should come see an animal show. I do experience the urbanization of mankind. So many people live in the city and their idea of wild life is maybe pigeons flying overhead. So there is a disconnect between nature and people these days.

Patch: What’s the one thing you’d like people to know about these birds and animals?

Edmonds: I dont try to teach facts, I try to let people learn to care or fall in love with the animals. If they care about the animals then they will keep the world as beautiful as it is.

See Matt Edmonds’s Wonders of Nature show tonight at the Upper Tampa Bay Library, 6pm, 11211 Countryway Boulevard in Tampa. The show is Free.

Darwen hero parrot helps saves premature pups’ lives

Darwen hero parrot helps saves premature pups’ lives

11:09am Tuesday 8th November 2011

• By Catherine Pye

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WHO’S a clever boy then? A talking pet parrot has been hailed a hero for saving the lives of five premature puppies.

Mimicking his owner Suzanna Bolton’s voice, 18-year-old African Grey parrot Sam squawked a distress call in her ear after going upstairs and jumping onto her bed in the dead of the night.

Sam woke Suzanna with calls to ‘come on, come on’ before leading her to the pups.

Mrs Bolton’s four-year-old Pomeranian bitch Sally had gone into labour a week early and both she and her puppies were in distress on a cold and wet kitchen floor.

Mrs Bolton, 55, of Anchor Avenue, Darwen, said: “Sam is allowed to roam around out of his cage, but parrots are not known to move at night.

“That night he seemed to know what was going on and came looking for me to help.

“He’s never been in my bedroom before in the eight years I’ve had him, but he came up the stairs, climbed on the bed and started talking to me in my own voice with the words “come on, come on”,
which I often say to Sally.

“I wondered what on earth was going on and took Sam back downstairs to his perch, but then he looked at me and squawked.

“It was then I looked in the kitchen and saw the puppies. One had died and the other five boys were all very, very cold and wet. I quickly got the heat pads out for them and got them next to a
radiator, and luckily they’re now doing well.

“I honestly believe that if Sam hadn’t have acted how he did, then the others could have died too during the night.”

Mrs Bolton bought Sam from an Urdu speaker when he was 10 years old and he knew no English.

Now he is able to accurately mimick several members of Mrs Bolton’s family.

She added: “He knows that if my grandson shouts ‘Nana!’ then I’ll come running immediately, so when Sam wants me quickly, he uses my grandson’s voice to shout Nana too.

“It’s very, very difficult to tell the difference between Sam’s impression and the real thing.

“He’s really very intelligent and everyone says how amazing it is that he’s managed to save the puppies.”

Mrs Bolton hopes to give the puppies to new homes once they are old enough.

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Comments(3)

Izanears

says…

11:21am Tue 8 Nov 11

It would appear that the parrot has more sense than its owner. She should have checked on the puppies condition before leaving them for the night.
Izanears

Bat E Karen

says…

11:52am Tue 8 Nov 11

It says her dog went into labour a week early.
Bat E Karen

armdec1

says…

12:41pm Tue 8 Nov 11

Izanears use your Iz and read the story!
armdec1

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CathBlog – The Bishop’s parrot

BY BRIAN DOYLE

Bishop Charles O’Reilly, the first Catholic bishop of Baker, Oregon, was occasionally astride a horse, and Bishop Leo Fahey, also of Baker, was often astride a horse, and Bishop Thomas Connolly, also of Baker, was always on a horse, except when he was telling stories like the one about a bishop and a cougar and an owl in a cave.

But my favourite story about bishops and animals, except for the story of Archbishop Edward Howard, of Portland, wrestling a sturgeon in his native Iowa, is the story of the late Bishop Paul Waldschmidt, of Portland, and his beloved parrot Kuzuku, of whom there are many stories. Like the one of Kuzuku outlining ideas for sermons to the bishop, who liked to tell that story himself, to the general astonishment of the faithful.

There are even more stories about the Bishop than there are about Kuzuku; for example the story of Paul, in seminary in Maryland, being required to make a trip into the wilderness, for some lost spiritual or character-building reason, and the future bishop, being something of a gourmand even then, setting off with buckets of champagne and huge steaks strapped to the sides of burly mules, while he rode astride a horse the size of Utah; interestingly the only story that I know in which he appears with a horse.

But we were talking of the parrot, which was famously ill-tempered with people other than the bishop, which is the reverse of the bishop’s approach to life, Paul being the soul of cheerful courtesy to all and sundry, even those who mistook him for a gardener at the university where he was president before his elevation to the bishop’s chair.

This was an understandable mistake, all things considered, considering that you could often find Paul in a vast pair of overalls, grubbing in his beloved rock garden high above the river, in the hours when he was not saving the university from extinction, or happily eating sausages and drinking beer with his students, not a habit many presidents maintain today, which is too bad.

But of mutual projects other than sermons between parrot and bishop we know little, which is a shame.

Could it not be that they were writing a novel together? Perhaps they were both past masters of chess, or the spinning of silk into prayer scarves? Could it be that they read the works of Washington Irving to each other at night, taking great pleasure in the slightly stilted prose?

Or perhaps they both detested Ayn Rand, and took a devious glee in explicating her essentially fascist stance, her wooden characters, and her worship of the ego as the only divinity?

Or perhaps they were serious students of the ancient Roman Republic, and meticulous scholars of the machinations of the Ceasars as that Republic morphed sadly into mere dictatorships, each bloodier than the last, until finally they were no more, and what arose as a brave amalgam of hill villages over the Tiber faded into the dusty pages of books?

This could be; but Kuzuku no longer speaks since the death of the bishop, and it may be that the loss of his friend is a daily shock to him, a hole that will not heal. It may be that parrots have bigger hearts than we know.

It may be that every creature alive is wilder with love than we know. It may be that the genius of that for which we have no words, that which set the stars to burn, was to give us hearts wilder than we ever imagined. It may be that an aged parrot, living silently with tiny nuns who carry him on their shoulders to the chapel every evening to pray, dreams nightly of a world made utterly wild with love.

Perhaps that is what he and the bishop dreamed together, in their evenings by the fire. Perhaps that is what we will dream now, here at the end of the world we did not love enough, the world still wild for us.

Brian Doyle is the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland. His books include Thirsty for the Joy: Australian American Voices.

Disclaimer: CathBlog is an extension of CathNews story feedback. It is intended to promote discussion and debate among the subscribers to CathNews and the readers of the website. The opinions expressed in CathBlog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference or of Church Resources.

Indian Ringneck Parrot in Aggressive Mode | Bird Expert-P |

Parrot back on perch

Published on Sat Aug 13 09:00:43 BST 2011

A talking parrot made a welcome return home on Tuesday, five days after making an uncharacteristic break for freedom.

Owners Felix Kempster and Penny Wallace were delighted when Chico – a 15-year-old African Grey – wandered into a neighbour’s garden five days after flying out of its cage in their home in Twyford Grove, Adderbury after being spooked by a dangling branch.

The intrepid bird – which frequently parrots phrases like ‘I love you’ and ‘clever old stick’ – twittered ‘come on’ as the concerned neighbour carefully wrapped it in a towel to avoid injury before placing it back on its perch.

Miss Wallace was particularly pleased with Chico’s change of heart.

She said: “When I first moved in with Felix, Chico got really jealous and used to peck holes in my clothes but I’ve grown to really love him and I was distraught when he flew off while we were cleaning his cage. We’ve been searching gardens in the area for days but although we did hear him call out to us once nobody seemed to have seen him.”

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