Why parrot can speak

But the birds that are best at imitating human speech are parrots. They can learn to say hundreds of words, and they understand what some of the words mean.

About half of the bird species sing. They learn these songs from other birds. Wild parrots, on the other hand, lack the needed close proximity to speech. Though wild parrots have been overheard spouting human phrases , presumably learned from escaped pet parrots, this behavior is rare. For parrots, words may have some associations but not complex meanings, says Wright. With training, though, it can be a different story, says Pepperberg. She bought Alex right after she completed her PhD in , and decided to train him rigorously: The bird listened and watched a pair of researchers identify and exchange simple objects importantly, objects Alex liked.

One human acted as a model for the bird, exchanging objects with the other researcher while Alex watched. For example, a bird trained to identify favorite foods knows exactly what they mean when they ask for them. For example, Waldo, a year-old African Grey Parrot who has been part of the band Hatebeak for 12 years what started as a joke has become a successful venture , likes snacking on bananas and crackers.

It's a little creepy. Burgess holds a Bachelor of Arts in computer information systems from DeVry University and her certified nurses aid certification. Types of Pet Birds.

By Brandy Burgess. Learning Language Parrots are one of a select group of six animals that must develop a verbal language to interact with each other, according to Steve Hartman of The Parrot University. Why Parrots Talk Parrots are highly sociable and crave interaction from their human flock. Parrot Physiology Without a flexible mouth and vocal cords, learning how to speak human language can be challenging for our feathered friends. Teaching Birds to Talk Repetition is an important factor when teaching parrots how to talk.

The bird needs to mimic the sounds it hears to recreate the local language successfully and fit in with the crowd. In captivity, your bird is doing what it does best, learning your local language so it can fit in in your home and stay safe. After you have your parrot for a while, you will likely notice that it is a keen observer and likes to imitate not only your vocal sounds but your movements as well. Your pet will start to take notice of what causes you to do different things. For instance, if you wake up and feed your bird every time your alarm rings, it might start to mimic the sound of your alarm clock to see if you come with food.

This reason is similar to the last one but is more focused. We mentioned that your parrot is clever and will start mimicking sounds it hears, especially if they cause some reaction in you. When it is seeking attention, it will engage in the same type of behavior, but it will repeat words or sounds relentlessly, not giving up until it receives the attention it seeks. If you continue to ignore it at this point, it may engage in destructive behavior and can damage the items in its cage.

It might even start plucking out its feathers.