my cockatiel learned how to whistle!!!

birdeeee · 7/19/13

i have only had my cockatiel for a couple weeks now and he has already learned to whistle! i am so proud of him! but since the first thing he learned how to do is whistle, does that mean he most likely will not learn to talk, or does that mean he'll be a good talker?

Tom B · 7/19/13

congrats! did you teach him a specific song or does he do his own little tune?

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PrettyBird · 7/19/13

Cockatiels don't generally talk. If they do, it's usually hard to understand. They mainly mimic and whistle. That's great that yours has learned to whistle!

CeciliaZ · 7/19/13

Sounds like you most likely have a little boy tiel! Although males are typically the "whistlers" I don't think it means that they are definitely going to learn to talk or not talk. I have had seven tiels since having birds ( I have 4 now

) Of the 7 - 5 males and 2 females. All of the males whistle but only one has talked.

birdeeee · 7/19/13

Tom B said:
congrats! did you teach him a specific song or does he do his own little tune?

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hmmm im not sure im pretty sure it was the one i taught him because i was always wolf whistling around him and it sounds like what i taught him.

Anne & Gang · 7/19/13

well I have a girl tiel who talks and also whistles, imitates birds etc etc but she did not read the manual that says girl tiels cannot talk..funniest is seeing her with her little nest of false eggs roll them over and say bad baby boy..oh yes indeed :hehe:

Rabbit · 7/19/13

Maestro is a whistler extrordinaire, hence his name, and that hasnt stopped him from talking in the slightest! He is a little unclear, and his voice sounds sort of like its coming out of a squeaky robot, but its so cute. Congrats on getting your little sweetie to whistle, and keep trying with the talking! After a good week and a half of repeating his name, he now says "Hi Maestro!" It just takes some patience, and getting used to the tiel voice. Best of luck!

Tails · 7/22/13

birdeeee said:
i have only had my cockatiel for a couple weeks now and he has already learned to whistle! i am so proud of him! but since the first thing he learned how to do is whistle, does that mean he most likely will not learn to talk, or does that mean he'll be a good talker?

Nice one! How old is he?

Cockatiels can talk really well, not all of them but I can say my last bird TimTam spoke so clearly once upon a time when I got home from work (before the quakes

) I thought someone had broken into my house.. and found it was him chatting away. I really miss him more than alot

kathykeltsy · 7/22/13

Took weeks before hubby could understand what Mica was saying. their little voices are kinda scratchy and unless you already know what they are saying it's tough to hear it. They are much better at whistling. I get a nice wolf whistle every morning when I go into the bird room/my work clothes room to pick out something. At least she can appreciate an old gal like me. :dancing:

Laurul Feather Cat · 7/22/13

I had two cockatiels, both males, that talked but just one or two lines. One said "Baby" and "Pretty Baby", his name. He taught Noel to say both those lines. But if you do not keep up with having them repeat what they know, they forget it and never say it again.

In the wild, cockatiels have a natural call that sounds like a human done wolf whistle, but instead of the last note going lower in pitch and longer, the last note is high and short; so it is easy for the cockatiels to learn the human wolf whistle and it is usually the first thing they master. The key to teaching a youngster to speak is to pick one or two words you want them to say and repeat them to them constantly in two or three minute time periods, as often as you have access to the bird. Cockatiels and budgies like words with 'b' and 'p' in them, so teaching "pretty bird" seems to be easiest for them to master. I changed Baby's name to Benny when I got him and he did learn to say Benny after a few weeks and he would even say "Baby Benny".

One of the reasons cockatiels forget how to talk is that every year, the cocks slightly change their song in response to what the other cocks around them are saying and what other birds live in their area. My cockatiels always pick up cardinal song since I have two sets of breeding cardinals in my yard. Recently a catbird started raising young and they picked up the catbird calls as well. When I brought Benny into my flock and he said 'pretty bird' many of the other cocks tried to learn to say it, but usually just garbled it into indistinct 'b' and 'p' sounds; and Benny picked up the cardinal song and everything else my original flock had as well. Having four or five cockatiels competing in the mating months and singing over one another is a real treat for me, but my BFF finds it annoying noise. I love birdsong, any type of birdsong.

Tails · 7/22/13

I had a Cockatiel that would say "Hello" every morning I uncovered his cage, he would say "whatya doing" and even his Latin name of "Tameiuos" (it was TimTam but I used to tell him another version lol) he was only a year old when saying heaps of words clearly. Have him on YouTube but dont watch it much as its too sad for me ... I know now he was a super special bird.
R.I.P Tameious :sad1:

Thugluvgrl187 · 7/23/13

My Squeeky talks and whistles. I did speak to him more than I would whistle to him at first to help him learn to talk. He are some vids

CrazyBirdLady · 7/23/13

I think it is a myth that if they learn to whistle first they don't talk and vice versa. All of my boys whistle between two and four songs and say between two and four phrases/words.

littletiel · 7/23/13

Congratulations! :dance4:

Tiels are a lot of fun. Mine starts to imitate a phone when he hears Skype starting (you know, that strange noise it makes when you open the program). :lol:

littletiel · 7/23/13

Oh, and he also always imitates the neighbour's dogs! I have told him birds don't bark, but he won't listen!

Laurul Feather Cat · 7/23/13

Birds don't bark??? But I thought the CAG named Emmie was a bird; but Emmie also barks like every dog that lives in the backyards of every house out back. I have two dobies, three small dogs and two GSPs and Emmie barks each one of their barks. So, Emmie is NOT a bird? Funny. Emmie does fly. Don't birds fly? Hummmmm.....

Tails · 7/23/13

Hahaha well dog sounds are one thing but plse listen to this; the lady I got my bird off has a live in resident male Tiel that.. wait for it, imitates emergency sirens of ambulances, police cars, fire trucks lol !

She lives at the back of a main throughfare road that I guess gets all these screaming down it once in a while. When I picked up Chocy I thought there was a fire truck in the backyard only to find it was him 'singing' away in the Avery teehee ....

:rofl:

littletiel · 7/24/13

My kid also likes to imitate crows. And he is pretty good at that too. Really, you could think he is a crow if you keep your eyes closed!

Tails · 7/24/13

Actually Crows are very intelligent birds as well, they can be taught quite easily, Ive read, to mimic sounds too

Newbird17 · 6/19/17

Oreo is 8 weeks old today and has learnt to wolf whistle I have heard he won't talk now is this true I really hope it isn't

my cockatiel learned how to whistle!!!

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