Why Can Parrots Speak?

Many birds have a time window in which they learn sounds. Unlike other bird species, parrots and crows can learn for a lifetime. In addition, parrots are very intelligent and they can develop an incredibly large sound repertoire. This can be explained by their social behavior.

Another Reason Is Family

Many parrots live in large groups in the wild and they are dependent on communication. One thing that has to work particularly well in large groups is that you have to find your own family again and again in a flock of hundreds of birds. It would be easier for whoever is looking for the children or the partner if the parrot calls them with their ‘name’ or in their individual tone. So it is important to imitate them. Copying the tone has to be learned but it is easy for parrots. They imitate the sounds and the voices of their partners or other family members, so that they react faster to their calls and feel addressed. It is sometimes done to impress the potential mate.

A parrot lives a long life of up to 15-20 years at least. There may be a situation where a partner falls victim to a predator or dies. To find a partner again, it is important to remain capable of learning. In this way, the parrot can also acquire the sounds of a new partner and imitate them and thus spread his genes further.

Thanks to their extensive imitation skills, parrots are able to keep in touch with individual animals or make new contacts, even in large groups.

What Does The Caregiver React To?

The fact that parrots that live amongst humans also produce human sounds is because we are the ones with whom they have contact. Parrots are looking for pets, especially gray parrots and also a caregiver. You have to listen very carefully, which voice the parrot has chosen for itself. They observe in their caregiver who they are addressing and what they react to.

Does A Parrot Understand What It Says?

Yes, the parrot knows what it’s saying. A parrot hears a sound again and again, and over time, starts imitating it. Then, it looks at the consequences by paying attention to the reaction of his caregiver and those around. And depending on whether it likes this reaction or not, it either continues to use the sound or prefers to learn others.

Best Tip

If you want to teach the parrots how to speak, you should choose sounds that are formed in the back of the throat. The word ‘papaya’, for example, would not be suitable for a parrot. He can learn that, but he would have to practice for a long time. Racket, Hello or Good are more likely to be learned quickly by a parrot.