Birds Pet List

African Greys

Amazons

Budgies - Parakeets

Cockatiels

Indian Ringneck Parakeets

Quaker Parrots

Mynah Birds

The pet birds commonly known to talk or mimic human speech are:

1. African Greys
2. Amazons
3. Budgies - Parakeets
4. Cockatiels
5. Indian Ringneck Parakeets
6. Quaker Parrots
7. Mynah Birds

As a side note, there are cockatoos who can be trained to talk, but they are generally known as a breed that are difficult to train and whose speech is not easily understood if they are. They are not normally selected for speech potential. There are also instances of talking conures but they are not the norm.

Cockatiels and budgies do not have the thinking caps of the rest of the parrot family, and normally require much more determination, repetition and time to train. My own cockatiel can wolf whistle with the best of them (to my chagrin and amusement of passersby). He is beginning on “pretty bird” but so far his attempts at vocalization seem to be merely raising and dropping his voice.