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Solomon, a Blue Fronted Amazon parrot. Image courtesy of Pegi Webster

There are two (or more) schools of thought on whether a “talking” bird is merely mimicking sound, knows what they are talking about, or is more likely associating an action with the human words that come after that action.

Either way, that is pretty smart! But many animals can put together an action with a reaction.

This is one of the ways animals learn. “If she does this, then I get that.” For instance, a horse sees their human walking to or from the hay barn and calls out for the human to walk faster. They know a meal is on its way.

Dogs and cats react to can opener sounds or toys appearing from nowhere, and they know food or games are next.

How are these reactions any different from a pet parrot seeing a door open, followed by their human stepping through that door and calling out, “Hi honey! I’m home!”

It doesn’t take long for the parrot to put two and two together. Their intelligence lets them understand the difference between “coming in” and “going out”, and to correctly add the noises the human makes after each instance. The difference between your cat or dog and your parrot is that your parrot can observe this series of events, put them together, and then talk about it later.

Does this mean your pet parrot understands what you’re saying? Probably not. But they are certainly intelligent enough to understand the context, put sounds together with observed actions, and add the noises the human makes after each instance.

While you marvel at how smart your pet parrot is, do you wonder, “How does he make the sounds? He doesn’t have lips”. And “Why is he making the sounds at all? What does he get out of it?” A third question might be, “How do I get him to be quiet?”.  But that is for another day.

First, How

Humans (and other species) make sounds via the larynx (the voice box). The larynx is in the throat at the top of the trachea and holds the vocal cords. Air passing through the larynx on the way to the lungs vibrates the vocal cords, allowing sounds to come out.

While parrots do have a larynx, the organ used to produce sounds is called a syrinx. It is located within the bird’s breast and is Y-shaped. It sits at the base of the trachea, rather than at the top like a larynx, next to two bronchi, where it meets the lungs.

There are several "types" of moveable syrinx in the bronchi, each able to work independently. This allows birds to make separate tones, often at the same time. Different sounds are made by changing the depth and shape of the syrinx.

If you’ve ever lived with a pet parrot, you know that the sounds they copy aren’t just the human voices they hear. Parrots will pretty much mimic anything, including telephones, microwaves, other animals, and crying human babies.

Parrots can reproduce human-like sounds by manipulating airflow with the tongue, sounding like human “speech.”

But, Why?

Everyone wants to fit in, and parrots are no different. Researchers believe that parrots developed their special talent of mimicry to blend in with their environment. 

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Mango, a Catalina Macaw, and Micky and Murphy, African Greys. Image courtesy of Patty Parks. 

Blending in can mean searching for a like-minded mate or trying to hide from potential predators. If a parrot in the wild finds himself in unfamiliar territory, it would be helpful to be able to mimic the sounds the locals make as a way of hiding in plain sight. Much better than a traveler who can’t speak the language of the country they’re visiting.

No discussion about the cognitive ability of parrots is complete without mentioning the work of Dr. Irene Pepperberg, PhD, a scientist and well-respected avian expert, and her research partner, an African Grey parrot named Alex. Dr. Pepperberg and Alex worked together for 30 years, making breakthrough discoveries on how parrots learn and what they are capable of understanding, educating and expanding viewpoints about birds and animals in general. 

According to Dr. Pepperberg, the reasoning behind parrots willingly learning to vocalize words and phrases comes from the same need the wild parrots have to become a part of the “flock,” or, in a more proper sense, a part of the family that is forming around them. Humans become an integral part of the captive or pet bird’s “flock.” Mimicked speech is an important form of interaction between the bird and the human elements of its flock.

Words are the sounds their human flock makes, and therefore, the sounds the parrot will mimic when they are with that flock.

However, Alex went much further and came to recognize colors, shapes, and letters, as well as to speak in complete sentences, often correctly responding to questions, before his death in 2007 at age 31.

Dr. Pepperberg continues her work through the Alex Foundation.

Parrots can be loud—really loud. No, really. Different species seem to each have their very own special brand of this kind of communication, and someone looking to add a parrot to their family would do well to research this, along with all the other research they are hopefully doing about the species of parrot they think they want. 

So, is your pet bird really “talking”? Some experts say no, but try to tell that to a parrot parent. Does it really matter?

A few of the best “talkers,” not necessarily listed by ability:

• African Grey
• Amazon
• Cockatoo
• Budgies
• Macaws

Mimicry

The Hill Mynah bird, native to the hill regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia, is known as a major player in the world of talking birds. Part of the starling family, Mynah birds are said to be among the best at mimicry and can sound the most like a human voice. They are capable of picking up to 100 words and can make good pets. 

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The ground-dwelling Australian Lyrebird is famous for its rich and beautiful song. This pheasant-sized songbird mimics the sounds of other birds like no other. From the cackling laughter of a Kookaburra to the strident "whipcrack" of the Eastern Whipbird, Lyrebirds are so accurate that even the original is sometimes fooled. Up to 80% of the Superb Lyrebird’s song consists of mimicry, and it’s not unusual for an individual male lyrebird to have mastered the calls of 20-25 bird species. It is not legal to keep Lyrebirds as pets, and they are protected in Australia.