[Anya]

Every evening after I cover up Cleopatra’s cage for the evening, I always say “Night, night, Cleo. I love you!” I have been doing this every night practically since I got her. Last night, I swear I heard her reply “Love you” back. I couldn’t believe it; because she hadn’t said anything for about a year, when she said, “Pretty bird” and “Pretty, pretty, pretty” a couple of times and that was it. Not another 'peep' out of her since.



This proves that she can talk, but will only do it if she feels like it. So, what’s up with that? Why does it seem that males are the ones that once they start talking continue saying things and females either never say anything at all, or are like mine, just say something once in a while? Any thoughts on this?



It’s really not that big a deal if Cleo talks or not. Her adorable little chirps and peeps are good enough for me, and let’s not forget about the happy grunts…but last night was an unexpected surprise.



Anyway, it got me wondering how many talkers are out there! If anyone would like to share or add some input, that would be great!

 

[David Miller]

Hi!
I know exactly why a male talks more than a female. It is just like why are so many males in the avian species so much more colorful than females!


It is because males have to be more vocal to attract a female, just like he has to be more colorful to attract a female.


It is the male who has to put on a display. Ever see other species of birds putting on a courtship dance? In fact, we humans take it one step further...we buy make-up for both male and females and we go to night clubs and dance and socialize with each other. We have on line dating sites with pictures, etc.


The Bower bird in Australia builds a colorful nest to attract a mate. Every stick and colorful do dads has to be perfect or the female will not be interested.


Female p'letts can talk just like males, but their genetic make-up steers them towards being quiet. I had a budgie female name Lola May who could out talk a male because she always wanted attention from any human or bird.


David and Ricochet

 

[Mrs.JP3]

My Lilly girl mimics my kissing sounds. It's so cute.

 

[laracroft]

My Lilly girl mimics my kissing sounds. It's so cute.

Awww, that's adorable! Micah does something similar. How is Lilly doing? Maybe I missed it since I've been so busy, but it seems like you haven't updated us on her in awhile.

Anya, from what I understand girls have the same talking ability, but are much less likely to actually do so than males. What David said matches up with what I was told.

 

[JackieRTP]

I had one female parrotlet in the past and she did not talk. I also have had a male in the past that talked and said I love you, where's my kiss, where Jackie, sweetie, sweet baby, teddy bear, bunny baby, pretty boy, pretty bird, peekaboo, you're so smart. I currently have a male parrotlet that does not talk.

 

[Anya]

Sorry for taking so long to get back. It was a very busy weekend.

Thank you David for that! What a great explanation. So, females have that genetic make-up that steers them to be quiet, that is interesting to hear. Then it must take a lot more effort for them to talk than males. Well, I'm feeling very proud of my little squirt right now for that, even though she hasn't said anything since. lol

Mrs JP3, I love hearing about Lily's kissing sounds. So sweet.

Hi Laracroft! Micah is so cute too.

And, Jackie, how cool that you had a male that could say all that! That's awesome!

 

[TheBeans]

Daisy said a few words when she was less than one year old, but has clammed up since. She will 'talk' to me when I talk to her but it's always in parrotlet chirping noises. If I stop talking, so does she!

 

[Pollyanna]

This is neat to hear a female talked! I know it’s rare. I like David’s explanation. Makes sense. Gigi hasn’t talked but she does copy kisses -like the rhythm. She is 1 1/2 year old. We’ve had her 5 months. She was a rescue.

 

[Mrs.JP3]

Awww, that's adorable! Micah does something similar. How is Lilly doing? Maybe I missed it since I've been so busy, but it seems like you haven't updated us on her in awhile.

Anya, from what I understand girls have the same talking ability, but are much less likely to actually do so than males. What David said matches up with what I was told.

Thanks for asking! There is not much to update. (insert shrug here) She still plucks her bod, mostly her front legs and shoulders. She did suddenly stop plucking Tobie, It was totaly random. I used to let them out supervised and I would have to keep them from preening, but at some point i noticed she was not trying to pluck him. I let them spend little blocks of time together and have since put them back together full time. That is second best to her plucking all togehter because I hated having them separated. They are very happy. The enjoy coming out to fly around more and more. Especially little Tobie!

 

[Anya]

Guess what? Cleo talked again! Wednesday night, I put her in her cage for the night and she was just whistling away as she normally does, but as soon as she was covered up, I heard her say, “Pretty” three times! Clear as a bell, Pret-teee! Why is she waiting to be covered up before she says something? I know it’s not shyness, she is anything but shy! lol She has to have a reason, but I cannot figure out what it is! I guess it’s her just being a preen-a-donna again! lol


Beans,
That’s great that Daisy has talked! It’s funny that both our girls started talking and then just stopped like that. Maybe Daisy might surprise you and start up again one of these days.



Pollyanna,
Yup, it appears that talking females are pretty rare, but after Dave’s explanation, it’s understandable.

But, you guys have given me the idea to try to teach mine to make kissy sounds. That is so cute that your Gigi does that too!
[FONT=&quot] Kudos to you for rescuing Gigi - that’s awesome. There must be a lot of birds out there that need good homes.If I ever get another bird, I'm going to look into doing that!
[/FONT]

 

[laracroft]

Thanks for asking! There is not much to update. (insert shrug here) She still plucks her bod, mostly her front legs and shoulders. She did suddenly stop plucking Tobie, It was totaly random. I used to let them out supervised and I would have to keep them from preening, but at some point i noticed she was not trying to pluck him. I let them spend little blocks of time together and have since put them back together full time. That is second best to her plucking all togehter because I hated having them separated. They are very happy. The enjoy coming out to fly around more and more. Especially little Tobie!

That's great to hear! I remember how upset you were about having to separate them. It's so nice that they can be back together.

Anya, thanks! I think Micah is the cutest, but I can admit to a SLIGHT bias.

 

[Mrs.JP3]

Oh yes, it's absolutely shyness. That's what they do, pretty much all birds when they start to talk the do in when they are by themselves or think you aren't listening.
As soon as they see you they zip it. She will probably do it more soon, keep saying it to her

 

[Anya]

Mrs.JP3 - So, it is shyness? I never knew that! Thanks, that explains it.

She's still talking. My boyfriend got a kick out of hearing her say, "Pretty bird" last night. So, yeah, I will definitely be doing my best to keep her talking!