The Best Pet Birds That Can Talk

One of the traits that makes birds unique is their ability to “talk”, or at least mimic human sounds. But not all birds can talk. What are the best birds that can talk?

Birds can do many things that entertain their owners, and one of those is talking. It’s charming to see an animal different from humans can mimic the way humans speak, though the birds usually don’t understand what they are saying.

However, not all birds can talk, and you can just pick whatever talking birds you want since not all are friendly or suitable for keeping and raising. So what are the best pet birds that can talk?

Top 10 best pet birds that can talk

#1. African Grey

The African grey is highly intelligent, people consider it to be the best talking bird. They can produce some amassing vocabularies with hundreds of words. 

Some researches even show that these birds can use those words in context, which is the ability to use meanings of previous words to have simple conversations. This doesn’t necessarily mean the birds understand the words they are saying. 

Also, the birds won’t have this ability right away. To achieve this kind of verbalization, you will need years of patient practice and training.

The African grey is about 9 to 14 inches in length and weighs about 11 to 19 ounces. Their overall appearance consists mostly of gray plumage and pale edging. Some have slight differences, such as the Congo African grey having black beak and bright red tail, while the Timneh African grey having a tan upper beak with maroon tail.

#2. Budgerigar

The budgie (also known as the parakeet) is a great talking bird that is comparable to many big birds. It currently holds the world record for the largest bird vocabulary. 

Although the budgies’ voices lean on the gravel side a bit, they can indeed learn many words and phrases. Also, the budgies are social birds, both you and the bird will have a great time practicing speaking.

The Budgies are small birds with the size of about 6 to 8 inches in length. They weigh roughly 1 ounce.

The Budgies’ appearance consists of Green abdomen; black and yellow back color. They have yellow heads; dark blue tails. Sole variations include blue, white, yellow, and gray color.

#3. Amazon Parrot

Amazon parrots are known for their ability to learn to speak with great clarity. They also have very sweet voices so you can enjoy hearing them all day.

One of the reasons these Amazon parrots want to mimic human voices is possibly their instinct to socialize. They are very smart and love gaining the attention of their owners.

As a result, these birds bond pretty closely with their owners. And they need a lot of social interaction and decent space to play.

The amazon parrot is a pretty big bird with the size of about 15 to 17 inches in length and about 16 to 23 ounces in weight. Generally, they have green bodies, yellow heads, the wings bend have red marks, and the double yellow headed Amazon parrots have white rings around their eyes.

#4. Indian Ringneck Parakeet

The Indian ringneck parakeets can learn a higher level of speech, such as longer phrases and short words. Also, these birds’ sounds tend to be cleaner and have more clarity compared to many talking birds.

The birds also have a rather cool history behind them. Centuries ago, in India, religious leaders said that daily prayers in their gardens started to see the local ringnecks mimicking the sound of the prayers.

Later, the birds were regarded as sacred. And eventually, this made people keep and raise them.

The Indian ringneck parrot is a rather big bird with the size of 14 to 17 inches in length and has a weight of roughly 4 ounces. You can recognize them by their green plumage, yellow underwings and blue tail.  The males have some black and rose color rings around their necks.

#5. Quaker Parrot

The Quaker parrots, also known as the monk parakeets, are very social animals. They like to pick up human speeches rather quickly.

They also learn those words very fast, this makes them suitable for beginners who are trying to teach a bird to talk. Not just for talking, this bird is also great for beginners overall when it comes to keeping and raising a pet bird.

However, bear in mind that this bird is considered illegal in certain States of America and many other areas since their flock is invasive to agriculture. So you should check your local law before buying this bird.

The Quaker parrot is an average size bird. They are about 11 to 12 inches in length and weigh about 3 to 5 ounces.

You can recognize these birds by their green heads, bodies, and wings; gray breast, throat, and cheek; and blue flight feathers. Some variations include blue, cinnamon, albino, pied, and lutino.

#6. Eclectus

The eclectus parrots are not usually too noisy, so you won’t have to worry about keeping in a crowded area, but Eclectus parrots can develop and speak surprisingly large amounts of vocabulary of human words.

Just like many birds above in this list, the eclectus parrots are generally very gentle and friendly. They love to interact and socialize with their owners a lot.

Through experiences, some people say the male Eclectus tends to be easier to train to talk to, and the female bird is generally more independent and as a result, they can handle stress better. 

The Eclectus parrot is a relatively big bird with the size of about 17 to 20 inches in length, and they weigh about 13 to 19 ounces.

These birds are very beautiful like many other parrots, with mainly emerald green color, along with red and blue underwings. They also have orange beak for malew and black beak for females; with mainly bright red, and blue feathers on their chests and tails. 

#7. Cockatoo

Compared to many of the birds in this list, the Cockatoos are not as good a talker as them. But they can still pick up some of the words or phrases.

These Cockatoos are social and affectionate animals, and sometimes crossing the line when it comes to needing attention. So the owners should spend hours every day hanging out and interacting with them.

But that is a small amount of work to do if you are equally affectionate to your birds. And the bond between you and the bird will help it learn to speak and perform tricks with ease.

The Cockatoo is a big bird with an average size of 18 inches in length and weighs roughly 16 to 26 ounces.

These birds feature mainly white plumage; with pale yellow feathers on their wings and tails. They also have large white crests and in the case of umbrella cockatoos, they have black beaks.

#8. Macaw

Just like the cockatoos above, Macaws aren’t as verbose as many other birds. However, they can mimic human speeches relatively well. And among the macaws, some species can learn more words than others, such as the blue-and-gold macaw.

These birds’ speeches are not clear in every word, furthermore, they are relatively noisy birds. So you should expect a bird that speak loudly sometimes, but not necessarily in a language that you can make out the words or understand clearly.

The Macaw is so far the biggest bird among other birds in this list, with the size of about 30 to 36 inches, and their weight on average is about 28 to 46 ounces.

You can recognize these beautiful birds by their green foreheads fading into teal napes, along with their backs, tails, and wings. They also have yellow chests and yellow undersides of wings. In the case of blue-and-gold macaws, they have large black beaks.

Some questions related to pet birds that can talk

Are parrots the only birds that can talk?

Generally, people tend to think that parrots are the only birds that can talk, or more exactly, mimic human voices and speeches, not all parrots can talk, and not all talking birds are parrots.

For example, the Mynah birds, ravens, crows, and starlings all can mimic the human voice and speech to some degree, although some may say the sounds are not as clear as parrots. There are many examples on YouTube about how these birds talk that surely will make you smile.

What are the best talking birds?

There is a reason why people tend to ask the above question. Generally, parrots are some of the most common and bright colored talking birds compared to many other birds that can happen to talk.

These parrots are smart and charming, so they can be your companion and chatter throughout the years, assuming that you spend a good amount of time and dedication to train them and keep them happy and healthy.

Speaking of “good amount of time”, you need to keep in mind if you want to get a parrot for yourself that most parrots have a very long life span. Some can live for 20 to 25 years, but if you take care of them the right way, some can live up to 50 years or more.

And as you may have noticed in this list, each bird has different personalities as well as appearances. So try to take a look thoroughly at the birds as well as yourself and where you live so that you have the best experience when getting your new birds.

How much does a talking bird cost?

The price range of a talking bird is vast depending on the types of birds and its ages. For example, for a baby budgie, you can expect to pay about $20 and for a mature macaw, you can pay up to $5000.

Also, check out where you get your birds from. You should know that some of the birds like the Double Yellow Head Amazon are endangered species in their native habitat. Even worse, some are smuggled across the border with no good intention for the birds at all.

As a result, checking where you purchased your bird from is the first in making sure you can provide the best living conditions for your future birds.

Why should you adopt a talking bird?

Because of the long lifespan these birds usually have, and also the amount of time, space and resources needed to take care of them, many of these talking birds are being taken care of by non-profit rehoming agencies.

With the cases of many birds, they are well cared for, but they have outlived their previous owners and need a new home, or circumstances have led to the previous families not being able to continue to take care of the birds.

These bird rehoming agencies can also help you if you have troubles choosing your suitable birds. They will provide you with lots of insights about each birds’ personalities, as well as their ups and downs.

Final thoughts

So, what are the best birds that can talk? We have picked the top 8 best pet birds that can talk, and the list includes: African grey, Budgerigar, Indian Ringneck Parakeet, Amazon parrot, Quaker parrot, Eclectus, Cockatoo, and Macaw.

If you are still hesitant about the pet birds that talk that you want to choose, the Amazon parrot is a great choice since they are some of the best birds that can mimic human voices and speech with great clarity.

Furthermore, they are just as, if not more social and affectionate than many other birds in this list.

These talking birds can be purchased from as low as $20 or up to $5000 depending on many factors. If you can’t spend too much money, you can get a bird at a bird rehoming agency. They will tell you everything you need to know about these beautiful birds.