Singing,Whistling, and talking

[nar1122]

I have a parrotlet who was born march 16, so that makes him pretty close to 5 months old. I am wondering if and when he will show signs in interest of whistling, or talking.
BUT, I have a 9 year old cockatiel who is as close to human as possible...he whistles all day, he does the whistle that a guy does when he sees a pretty girl, and he does the whistle to get your attention. He also says pretty bird, makes kisses, and whistles tunes throughout the day.
Oscar (the parrotlet), though makes quite a bit of noise. Hes very vocal. Its not like a loud and annoying voice, but its high pitched. And he always makes a series of noises, and kinds of pitches, and lengths. But recently he has been addding in there the two short whistles that my cockatiel does. does this mean he's interested, and I should spend a lot more time with him at this time, to teach him?
When do they usually learn best?

if you want to see my cockatiel sing, here (http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/nar1122/?action=view&current=66ec76e3.flv) is a link to the video that my nephew made when he was playing with the cockatiel! (birdie)
http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/nar1122/?action=view&current=66ec76e3.flv
So please, inform me as much as you can :confused: thanks

[Pado]

:D that was very cool - Birdie sure has that whistling down ;)

There are a few threads on here regarding talking - (do a search and you're bound to come accross them).

There is one pretty talkative P'let named Wendell. But most others seem to mimic only a few words at best.

I have a male that will say Hello and will mimic a few different sounds made by people - whistles & clicks etc but since I got him a mate he prefers mostly to speak Parrotlet :) I "think" mine was around 6 to 7 months when he first said Hello.

[nar1122]

thanks....
I read somewhere that its at around that age (6-8 months) they start to mimic.
My mother has a parrotlet, and he is a little over a year old, and she said when he turned a year old, he came up with a whole new bundle of dounds...she described it as an "upgrade"!! lol
:D:)

[Morena]

Tommaso says a few words. He was around 8 months when I heard him say, "kisses and Where's my kisses". The only time I hear him is when I'm in my office working. He won't talk if I'm in the same room. I think he is a closet talker. :) Anyway, he's 18 months old now and has added a few more words/ phrases to his vocabulary, like "what are you doing?" (this one impresses me, with it being a full sentence. Anyway, I never expected him to talk, it just happened. He still will not say anything in front of me, but that's okay. He doesn't think I know, but I can hear him. I like the way your mother calls it an "upgrade".

Morena

[nar1122]

lol OSCAR IS THE SAME WAY! he will not make ANY noise when im in the same room! I hear him from my office too. lol.
My mom's male parrotlet (oliver) is completely opposite!! when im on the phone with her, I can hear him trying to mimic her. and when shes not in the room, she never hears him!
lol

[Elyse]

No words from Kismet yet (about a year and 4 months) - but he does imitate kiss sounds and seems to understand, "Do you want a birdy tickle?"
I was trying to get him to say, "wooking por nub" (Looking for love - the old Eddie Murphy/Gumby SNL skit.)

[marjet]

Bibi said 'hello'!!! Yesterday!
But I suppose she will not say so again, at least not when anybody is listening :rolleyes:
But she 'kisses' an awfull lot and that, of course, is much more important!

[Kumiko]

Actually, Kiwi is 4 months old and he can say, "Hello" without the "o". If you get my drift.

I kept on saying Hello everytime I came to the cage. And he mimicked Sonnie with knoking on his cage door and saying "hello" without the "o".

I think because he is so young, he didnt actually get the whole word right, but it is funny to watch him say that everytime you come to the cage door. :D

[nar1122]

lol. Hello is a common one. I guess it gets bird's attention, and owners probably use it the most. I read somewhere that they like words with various syllables, pitches, and tones. "Pretty Bird" is what my cockatiel has been sayng for 5 years, and "What are you doing?".
If you hold them in front of you with no distractions, and try different words, you will be able to tell which ones they are interested in. They will watch your mouth move and listen closely.
Others, that they dont like, they will just ignore.
They say to do a few 10 minute sessions throughout the day, which is what i'm doing with Oscar, for a week. Then the next week, I will do a different word, and eventually it will come to him.

[Kumiko]

OMG.. Sonnie is my Cockatiel and he says:

"uhh-oo"
"hello"
"Pretty bird"
"Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty"
"get away from me, me, me"
~* I am the one that taught Sonnie all of that. He knows lots of whistles and he know the song "Stayin' Alive!"

I am teaching Kiwi, right now:

"Loser"
"Sexy bird"
"Hellz' yah" :D
"Away from the toy"
"You are so beautiful"
"uhh-oooo"

Not really a good volcabulary, but that I think that would be cute for such a small bird to know to say. He already knows some whistles. I am not giong to teach him the correct way to say 'Hello' He says it none stop that I think he enjoys it... better not destroy all his fun. ;)

[nar1122]

lol. Birds are the best pets!!

[birdiemom]

Paulie began talking at 4 months..he talks a lot and says lots of words and phrases...he's 2 now and comes up with new stuff all the time.

[MMC32879]

My 9 month parrotlet Gonzo just started talking a few days ago. He says "I'm a dirty bird." He is easier to make out at times. I know what he is saying though because I've been saying it to him over and over everyday. I would recommend trying that, it seemed to work well with Gonzo. I had a feeling that he would talk, a few months after we got him he started "mumbling." He es very funny now that he says I'm a dirty bird. There are times that he just says it over and over again!

[Pado]

and who's been telling him he's a dirty birdie - huh? :D :D :D

[nar1122]

Oscar actually is starting to talk.
When I'm not in the room, he is as loud as can be (happy chirps) and I will hear the occasional "Pretty Bird" or the wolf whistle that he picked up off my cockatiel.
He definitely is a closet talker. But he sometimes, now, actually will talk and make his loud noises and talk to himself when I'm actually in the room.
I read somewhere that they can either be a good talker, or a good whistler. Not both. But he seems pretty good. Im spending time with him teaching him hello, etc. And then i'm going to try whistles after he learns a few new words, to test this theory.

[MMC32879]

and who's been telling him he's a dirty birdie - huh? :D :D :D


My mom actually, her and my father had a parrot when they first got married. Not sure what kind but she says that Gonzo resembles him. But her bird said that so we have been teaching Gonzo to say it. It's pretty funny.