We all know that some birds can mimic human language, like parrots. Do you know which bird in the world is the most talkative? This article brings you the top ten most "talkative" birds. Let's take a look.
1. African Grey Parrot
The African Grey Parrot is a large parrot. A typical climbing bird, it is a highly intelligent and gifted talker, renowned for its ability to mimic human speech. In some tests, it has been shown to possess the cognitive abilities of a 4- to 6-year-old child. The African Grey Parrot is one of the few known animals capable of truly conversing with humans. Besides mimicking human language, this parrot has also been found to mimic the sounds of other birds and mammals in the wild. New experiments have shown that African Grey Parrots can learn number sequences and associate human voices with human faces. Most notably, Dr. Erin Pepperberg, in collaboration with an African Grey Parrot named Alex, demonstrated that it can learn over 100 words and distinguish objects, colors, textures, and shapes.
2. Eclectic Parrot
The Eclectus Parrot, also known as the Red-flanked Parrot, is a relatively quiet medium-to-large parrot. Its diet consists mainly of seeds, berries, fruits, nuts, insects, and their larvae. It is primarily distributed in Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia. Eclectus Parrots can mimic human language and other appealing sounds from their environment. Some can even learn and sing entire songs. In such cases, they can even deceive their owners.
3. Budgerigar
Budgerigars, also known as budgies, are lively and easy to train, making them one of the most popular pet birds in my country. They are often the first parrot purchased by many people who are new to parrots, and they are also the most frequently seen species at bird shows. Budgerigars can talk, but they need constant training from a professional. During the training process, they can only be taught one at a time; otherwise, a very playful budgie will not be able to learn.
4. Yellow-necked Amazon Parrot
The Yellow-necked Amazon parrot is a typical climbing bird, measuring 38 cm in length. It is a renowned expert in language learning. The Yellow-necked Amazon parrot has a green forehead and crown, a yellow stripe along the back of its neck and below the nape, a dark gray beak that gradually lightens towards the base of the upper jaw. It possesses an exceptional ability to mimic a wide variety of sounds. Yellow-necked Amazon parrots typically associate with only one person. Therefore, the interaction between owner and pet is the most crucial factor in determining the parrot's speaking ability.
5. Red-collared Green Parrot
The Red-collared Green Parrot primarily inhabits sparse woodlands at the foot of mountains, villages, farmlands, and town gardens. It feeds on plant fruits and seeds, grains and other shrubs, berries, flowers, and nectar. It is widely distributed in many countries in Africa and Asia. The Red-collared Green Parrot is one of the most outstanding parrots. They can learn 200-250 words. Red-collared Green Parrots often attempt to mimic human voices in their environment. They can also learn words by listening to music.
6. Monk Parrot
The monk parakeet, also known as the monk parrot, primarily inhabits dry, open woodlands, palm groves, and agricultural areas below 1000 meters in altitude. Its diet includes seeds, buds, and flowers of various grasses, trees, and other plants, as well as fruits and berries, and occasionally insects. It is found in Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Like other talking birds, monk parakeets require proper training to mimic human voices. They can also mimic other sounds from their environment.
7. Myna
The myna is a songbird belonging to the order Passeriformes and the family Stellaria. It is a skilled singer with a loud, clear call, capable of imitating and producing a variety of melodic tones. Its body is mostly black with a metallic sheen of purplish-blue and copper-green. Its distinctive features include orange plumage and prominent wattles and wattles on its head. Males and females are largely similar. They are excellent singers, calling loudly and capable of imitating various melodies. The myna is one of the most talkative birds in Southeast Asia. They can mimic human speech with almost identical intonation and tone. They can also produce various whistles, cries, and screams.
8. Cockatoo
Cockatoos share similar characteristics with other parrot species. They all have hooked beaks and zygodactyl feet. The main differences lie in several biological features, including a retractable crest and colorful plumage. Cockatoos are highly mimicking and can imitate a wide variety of sounds, but their ability to speak depends entirely on the quality of their training. There are different species of cockatoos in the world, among which the Rose-crested Cockatoo, Yellow-crested Cockatoo, and Long-billed Cockatoo are considered to be particularly good talkers.
9. Yellow-crowned Amazon Parrot
The Yellow-crowned Amazon parrot is a very intelligent species. It is also a lively and noisy parrot, with strong vitality, adapting to new environments without much difficulty. It enjoys bathing and chewing on things, and is one of the most talkative birds in the Amazon parrot family. It makes a good pet bird; young birds develop good talking abilities and interact with people quite well, similar to most Amazon parrots. Unfortunately, captive breeding is limited, so young birds, whether Taiwanese or imported, are not commonly found in the market.
10. Mynah
The common myna is widespread in southern China, serving as both an important beneficial bird for agriculture and forestry and a popular cage bird. It can mimic the calls of other birds and even simple human speech, making it widely kept as a pet in China and also introduced to the Philippines and Canada. The myna's shape and size are similar to the domestic starling, with an entirely black body. It has a long, vertical tuft of feathers on its forehead, resembling a crown. Its wings have white spots, which are particularly noticeable during flight. Generally, male chicks are lively and energetic, frequently singing and mimicking human speech during the breeding season, with loud calls and a higher frequency of singing and mimicking than female chicks. In terms of appearance, a slender, agile, and spirited body with prominent "five white" characteristics, along with fiery red iris eyes and a jade-white beak, is considered the best.
