What's that bird? How many words can a parrot say? Let me tell you a tale. I once attended a house for a professional home visit. On arriving, I gently knocked on the door and was met with a voice enquiring "who is it?" I identified myself, only for there to be silence. I knocked again "who is it?" - my reply was again simply met with silence.
After the third repetition, I noticed the owner walking up the path to greet me. She chuckled, "I think you've been chatting to my parrot". This FAQer (me) had unwittingly spent 10 twitchy minutes engaging through a letter box with a parrot. When I was finally invited into the house, the parrot was sneering at me from his perch in a condescending, mocking (bird) manner. What a birdbrain I was.
Soaring on, the answer to this FAQ varies greatly on the type of parrot. The main yapper is the African Grey; these can learn to say literally hundreds of words. Our research indicates that the current record word count is in the region of 1000 words and the title is held by a male African Grey parrot named Prudles. Whilst Prudles utters oodles, some parrots are not known as talkers; Macaws are an example of the more silent bird.
Although the parrot I met had only mastered "who is it" (simple bird, snigger) and unfortunately hadn't reached the stage where he could tell me who he was (!) some parrots can actually hold 'intelligent' conversations. Instead of merely imitating, they actually understand what they are saying and are able to use memory and judgment skills.
As well as 'speaking' an array of recognisable words, parrots are also capable of imitating sounds, like ringing telephones or creaking doors. This enhances parrots' popularity as pets. Be warned however, don't divulge your secrets while a parrot is perched in earshot!
After the third repetition, I noticed the owner walking up the path to greet me. She chuckled, "I think you've been chatting to my parrot". This FAQer (me) had unwittingly spent 10 twitchy minutes engaging through a letter box with a parrot. When I was finally invited into the house, the parrot was sneering at me from his perch in a condescending, mocking (bird) manner. What a birdbrain I was.
Soaring on, the answer to this FAQ varies greatly on the type of parrot. The main yapper is the African Grey; these can learn to say literally hundreds of words. Our research indicates that the current record word count is in the region of 1000 words and the title is held by a male African Grey parrot named Prudles. Whilst Prudles utters oodles, some parrots are not known as talkers; Macaws are an example of the more silent bird.
Although the parrot I met had only mastered "who is it" (simple bird, snigger) and unfortunately hadn't reached the stage where he could tell me who he was (!) some parrots can actually hold 'intelligent' conversations. Instead of merely imitating, they actually understand what they are saying and are able to use memory and judgment skills.
As well as 'speaking' an array of recognisable words, parrots are also capable of imitating sounds, like ringing telephones or creaking doors. This enhances parrots' popularity as pets. Be warned however, don't divulge your secrets while a parrot is perched in earshot!
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