Teaching a Bird to Talk

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Madeline Franco, and we're here to talk about birds. Specifically, we're going to talk about talking birds. This here, is Floyd. He's a Rose-Breasted Cockatoo. They're native to Australia, and Floyd is approximately six years old. He can be quite a talker. Many birds talk. Some don't. For those of us who love them, it matters not whether they do, or they don't. It doesn't change the amount we love them. However, Floyd says a number of things, and I'm hoping he'll say them today, and I'm going to test that theory right now. Give me a kiss. Give me a kiss. Many people are curious as to why birds talk, or how they talk. They actually don't have a voice box as we do. They have air sacs, and they're able to talk by manipulating air, over and through those air sacs. Why do they talk? They talk for a couple of reasons. Generally, they talk because they've heard something that they like, and they enjoy replicating sounds. Floyd says, as I said, a number of things, and he also says what a cute bird, what a cute Floyder. I don't know that he'll go through that whole repertoire today, and I would tend to doubt it, because the other thing is, that birds don't always do what you want them to do. They seem to exercise a fair amount of free will, so if you ever see someone performing with a bird, and the bird is talking quite a bit, that means probably that the bird is happy, and that the bird is very well focused. It's very difficult to get a bird to perform in front of an audience, that they're not familiar with. In fact, often, it's difficult to get them to perform in front of an audience at all, so appreciate those people who train them, so that they can do that. Floyd, and a lot of other birds, will also talk a lot when I'm not paying much attention to them. I have, and some of the best talkers, are this little guy, again a Rose-Breasted Cockatoo. Also, a number of the Amazons, and I have a couple of Amazons, who will say hello, and say it louder and louder, until I acknowledge them. Birds have learned that we pay attention, I guess, when they talk, and they do it for that reason, so let's see if Floyd is going to talk again. What a cute bird. Oh, he liked that. You going to give me a kiss? Give me a kiss. Give me a kiss. Give me a kiss. He also makes the kissing noise, which is kind of cute, but he does have a repertoire. I think he's going to limit it today, because he's trying to play hard to get. If you're trying to teach a bird to talk, just remember they're a lot like children. If you want them to talk, you need to talk to them. A lot of people say to me, my bird doesn't talk, and they sound disappointed in that. Just speak to your bird, and you'll find that like a child, many of them will respond."