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"Hello" is one of the most common things for people to teach them. Remember that even if a bird has the potential to talk, there is zero guarantee that it will. I own a Senegal parrot that is about 4 years old and does not talk. I have seen and heard Amazon parrots who can sing songs and have large vocabularies and others who say nothing their entire life.
Sky's kind of the limit but one thing I wouldn't suggest is profanity/insults. It isn't cute and can doom the bird to losing more than one home. So can whistling. The pitch and volume a parrot can achieve is earsplitting. They have loud voices to be heard over long distances to stay in contact with their flocks in the wild.
Realize your bird may not spend the rest of its life in your family. It's a sad fact that the majority of longer lived "companion" birds don't. Various studies by exotic bird rescue organizations report that something like 80% of them end up being re-homed within their first 3 years. A bird having between 3-5 homes during their life isn't uncommon. Once a parrot learns a word/phrase it's pretty difficult to get them to unlearn it. They have incredible memories. They also love attention and commotion. Which is why they learn to repeat things their humans say. Even if that attention is negative (scolding or being punished) that still counts as far as the bird is concerned. Still better than being ignored.
"Hello" is one of the most common things for people to teach them. Remember that even if a bird has the potential to talk, there is zero guarantee that it will. I own a Senegal parrot that is about 4 years old and does not talk. I have seen and heard Amazon parrots who can sing songs and have large vocabularies and others who say nothing their entire life.
I have a pair of Senegal parrots. I have had them for 35 years and for several years they would never talk in front of me. When I was in other rooms I regularly heard them saying words. Mikey the male still will not say anything in front of me. Paco named before I knew she was a female started talking in front of me easily 15 years ago. She has a trick to bite people. She will tell you over and over she is a good girl. She will come over to the side of the cage and act like she wants petted. The second you stick your finger into the cage she will bite you. Now if you open the door and tell he "up" she will climb onto your finger and let you pet her all you want.
Sky's kind of the limit but one thing I wouldn't suggest is profanity/insults. It isn't cute and can doom the bird to losing more than one home. So can whistling. The pitch and volume a parrot can achieve is earsplitting. They have loud voices to be heard over long distances to stay in contact with their flocks in the wild.
Realize your bird may not spend the rest of its life in your family. It's a sad fact that the majority of longer lived "companion" birds don't. Various studies by exotic bird rescue organizations report that something like 80% of them end up being re-homed within their first 3 years. A bird having between 3-5 homes during their life isn't uncommon. Once a parrot learns a word/phrase it's pretty difficult to get them to unlearn it. They have incredible memories. They also love attention and commotion. Which is why they learn to repeat things their humans say. Even if that attention is negative (scolding or being punished) that still counts as far as the bird is concerned. Still better than being ignored.
My orange wing amazon makes this insanely loud kids toy gun noise. Luckily she quit swearing after having her for several years but that darn electric toy gun noise is still a staple. If you have never had a bigger parrot they can be loud. She is in the front of my house and you can hear her in the back yard on occasions.
Thanks for the replies but to the couple of you I was not asking for advice. I was trying to start a fun thread on what YOU think would be a funny or clever saying you would find amusing for a bird to say....or maybe what you have heard.
I have had birds all my life so I know how they are.
My mom's african grey would say "I need a shower" every time he pooped. Along with the ton of other things he said, he would say" Help! Cat!" as one of his funnier sayings.
Thanks for the replies but to the couple of you I was not asking for advice. I was trying to start a fun thread on what YOU think would be a funny or clever saying you would find amusing for a bird to say....or maybe what you have heard.
I have had birds all my life so I know how they are.
My mom's african grey would say "I need a shower" every time he pooped. Along with the ton of other things he said, he would say" Help! Cat!" as one of his funnier sayings.
sam812......darn birds..lol
I have also had birds my whole life. On the funny side of what they say. Around 20-25 years ago I had a female Red Bellied parrot named Lucy and a yellow collard macaw named Sam. Every morning they would say hello to each other using their names. I kept them in separate rooms and had other birds at the time and none of them picked it up. It was funny to hear the macaw saying Good Morning Lucy and the Red Bellied replying Good Morning Sam. They would only do it once every morning like they actually knew what they said.
I used to get my cockatoo's feed at a specialty bird store. The owners had a yellow-naped Amazon who watched everything from a command position near the front door. Store customers were loyal, the store was popular and always busy. Perfect situation for an attention-seeking performer like Jake. When he'd hear the cash register ring up a sale he'd announce "ArrrEEEEEEba!" rolling his Rs perfectly. Then there was "Love ya honey", "Help, FIRE"! And "here ditty, kitty, kitty!" (the store had a rodent control cat who patrolled the bulk seed stockroom). Plus, all the wonderful assortment of raspberries, throat clearing, ringtone, kissy, chime, beep, metallic, click, and whistle calls Amazons love. He didn't scream much...too much going on.
I've described my elderly friend's African grey's repertoire in the forum before. She was truly gifted. I also suspect she read minds.
Last edited by Parnassia; 04-10-2024 at 06:22 PM..
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...darn birds..lol