Parakeets are small to medium-sized parrots that are incredibly talented.These colorful birds have the ability to mimic sounds they hear in their environment. They are also able to mimic human voices as well if regularly taught.Parakeets are small birds that are also commonly known as budgies. These colorful birds are quite fond of talking and are natural talkers. They are able to learn many phrases and words in a short duration. These talking parakeets make excellent pet birds that keep everyone entertained. Males are quick learners and teaching them a phrase daily can make them well-versed in many phrases in no time. Teaching a budgie is a fun-filled experience and hearing them speaking human phrases is a lot more fun. Read on to learn more about budgie talking and discover tips to teach it how to talk!If you enjoy this article, why not also read about can parakeets eat bananas and why do parrots talk here on Kidadl?Can parakeets talk like humans?Yes, a parakeet can repeat sounds it hears from its environment. Doing so allows it to stay social in its flock. If kept as a pet bird, it can repeat sounds of humans around it. It is wrongly assumed that budgies are highly intelligent as they can learn any phrase and word humans say. Surprisingly, these birds do not have any high intellectual capacity. These colorful birds are just good at mimicking the speech of the family they are living with. Budgies are cute and social pets. These parrots are able to mimic human speech as the people they live with are their flock. In order to socialize with their flock, they mimic their flock’s language in order to socialize.The way this species of parrot talks is quite different from the way of humans. Humans are able to talk by their vocal cords vibrating. Interestingly, even though these birds can be heard reproducing the speech of humans, they do not possess any vocal cords. A parrot is able to speak by using muscles in its throat to direct air over the trachea (windpipe). The talking ability of the parakeet species is a part of its social behavior and is an adaptation these birds have adopted over time. When humans keep a parakeet as a pet bird, the bird is exposed to humans talking instead of other parakeets. Therefore, the bird adopts phrases and words it hears from its surroundings in order to become social. For the parrot, its family at home is its flock. The gender of the bird also matters when it comes to mimicking. Females are not avid talkers compared to males.Can you teach parakeets to talk?Yes, teaching a bird of any parakeet species to speak is possible. Training a parakeet to speak takes time just like training a dog to perform a trick, or training a cat to use a litter box. It also takes sincere efforts from the owner of the parakeet to teach it to speak. However, the gender of the bird plays a huge role in the talkativeness of the bird. The easiest and the best method to teach a pet parakeet how to speak phrases and words is through sounds in its surroundings. If a pet parakeet is kept in silent settings where not many people talk to each other, it may never speak.Parakeets are social birds that memorize noises they hear in their surroundings. They repeat words and phrases people use while talking around them regularly. If the owners share a bond with their pet, it becomes easier for their pet to adapt and learn phrases. An owner talking to its pet bird daily can encourage the pet to learn to speak sooner. Asking the bird questions and asking it to repeat certain sentences can result in the parrot grasping words more easily. The most effective method for differentiating your voice from background noises is to enunciate words and talk to the pet face to face. A budgie can grasp things faster and easier if it is talked to like a child that is being taught the alphabet. The voice of a parakeet bird is quite distinct from the voice behind human speech. During the initial days of these birds speaking, their voices will be fast and high-pitched. It is vital to listen to the bird while you speak. Its voice gradually becomes improved after many practice sessions. Once you notice signs that the parakeet has grasped information and has started vocalizing as well, showing it objects and saying the respective names of these objects allows the parakeet to understand the link between the word and the object. Many owners of pet parakeets are known to turn up the volume of music as parakeets have been observed to respond quite well to music. It is also important to respond to what budgies are trying to express by understanding their behavior. The budgie might want to go to the bathroom, it might be hungry, it might want to walk outside its cage or sleep. The owner must behave accordingly by letting it out of its cage, feeding it, or taking it to a spot where it can poop. These things must also be done if the bird is non-talking as even though it may not be able to speak, it can still understand the gestures you do. Despite all your efforts, if you still can’t get your parakeet to talk, it could be possible that either the parakeet is an introvert or that it is a female.Sounds That Parakeets MakeA well-trained parakeet saying good morning is hardly detectable to humans as the way parakeets speak is not similar to the way of humans. They do not possess vocal cords like we do. They produce sounds and pitches they hear regularly by regulating air to their throat muscles.Parakeets are considered to be intelligent birds as they can speak. However, they are only able to mimic phrases used by people even though they have no idea what these phrases mean. A well-trained parakeet bird can be trained to speak phrases or sounds with the help of a vocal action word or some motion of the hand. Parakeets are not able to have a conversation with people. They can only repeat a few sentences they have memorized.How long does it take for a parakeet to talk?The gender of the parakeet is a factor that affects the length of time it takes for a parakeet to learn to speak. Male parakeets, in comparison with female parakeets, are able to be more expressive and adapt more easily. They learn to talk faster. This doesn’t mean that a female parakeet cannot learn to talk. It might talk, but it may take a long while. It is recommended that when buying a parakeet, a male should be chosen or preferably one that can speak a few words already. This confirms that the parakeet will be able to grasp words and noises later on.Animals are known to adapt and learn in their natural habitat. Similarly, the parakeet is able to mimic and repeat noises it hears as an adaptation. It is a response to its surroundings that evolved over time. The male is more active in grasping words compared to the female due to the difference in roles of males and females in the wild. Males are known to socialize much more in the wild compared to females. The male is also the pursuer when it comes to mating. The female performs the duty of laying eggs and foraging for her chicks. She has lesser opportunities to socialize and thus is not able to talk quickly. Male budgies are thus easier to train.Did You Know…The term ‘parakeet’ originated from ‘perroquet’ which is a French word.A parakeet is known as a parakeet in the U.S. but in other countries, ‘budgie’ is a common name for this bird. Budgie is the short form of the parakeet’s scientific name ‘budgerigar’.The term ‘parakeet’ translates to a long tail.Female parakeets have been observed to express territorial nature. If two females are kept together as pets in a single cage, they will end up fighting with each other, which is why they must be housed in their own, separate cages. On the other hand, males kept in a cage as pets are social with each other and do not fight.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for can parakeets talk then why not take a look at budgie colors, or English Parakeet Facts.
Parakeets are small to medium-sized parrots that are incredibly talented.
