Parrot vocalisation

[PufF]

This is a slight musing with a lot of uncertainty and scattered points because I myself am unsure of what I'm trying to convey. But perhaps some of you guys would be interested in my choice of topic.

Ever since I got Puff, one thing has always puzzled me. Some birds seem to be generally quiet but perk up in the vicinity of others. Ok this might sound like common sense, as those who own birds with preferences would have seen cases of their parrot flaunting themselves to their preferred human, but I started to wonder how general it is in terms of both personality and species. As someone who is relatively experienced in parrot keeping, it is obvious to me that some sounds are obviously happy while others are not. But there are neutral sounds, and as one might know a lot of the times the meaning of the sound is also heavily context dependent. So is it possible to generalise some trends?

And specifically, is it generally true that a noisy bird is a happy bird? Some species are less vocal than others, but I am of the belief that generally speaking, hearing from you bird is a good sign, despite how noisy it might be. And based off my limited experience with Puff, I noticed that she is silent when someone else comes into the room after I just left [she'll try to call for me] and also if I'm not there. This was the case even back in the hardware store, as she almost never spoke unless I was there. Other birds at the store did speak up though, the macaws and cockatoos and all. They have their vocalisations here and there, and there was also a Zon that realy liked to talk. But then again I've also seen other silent Zons [also a YNA], and both talkative and quiet Greys. But at least for Puff, it seems that she only vocalises when she feels safe and/or with me and/or looking for me. At least that's what I think.

At the same time though she will still scream loudly when I bring her out and dogs look at her [muzzled and leashed at like 3/4m away and Puff is close to me in a harness too] and like even I am stressed and holding onto her harness so that she doesn't suddenly fly towards them but nah she screams as usual. I'm not sure if she genuinely doesn't care because I'm there or if she just does what she wants. She does have decent exposure to dogs though given that said hardware store also had some dogs and the last time i brought her to the vet she was equally high when other pets were present [though to be more specific for the duration of the whole trip from my home and back she was really loud I don't know why]

But my intuition says that a silent bird is definitely an upset bird. So I think the reverse might be true as well. But honestly I'm just confused and don't get bird vocalisation. Puff will be loud then silent then loud then not and sing and shout and walk and pout. Birds are so weird.

Anyone have their own thoughts or stories to share?

 

[Finchbreed]

In my experience - which is kind of haphazzard - all sorts in mixed conditions - from singles to avairies full - and over most of a lifetime.
Birds are like people in that they vary in personality - there will always be the quiet ones who are chilled in most situations so don't make a racket, just chatter quietly - then the touchy ones who get jumpy and demanding in any out of the normal situation. And all those in between. So what is normal? If you can define a normal person you can define a normal bird. Normal is what is happening with the bird after you have been together for a year or longer.
I am a "enjoy and don't sweat the little things" kind of person.

 

[Clueless]

Secret can be very quiet when surrounded by people at family events (12 here for Thanksgiving).

Secret can STILL be obnoxious and does that horrid crow calling when family members are in town though, despite (or maybe because?), those family members don't adore her.

 

[SelvaVerde]

" is it generally true that a noisy bird is a happy bird? "

When it comes to this question, I think we should look at vocalization in our birds in the same way we would in ourselves. There are different reasons for vocalizing as there are different types of vocalizations (happy, frightened, etc.). Similar vocal bursts exist across species, such as, for example, i grunt as I pull on a rope that is tight or lift weights at the gym. A dog makes the same sound when you play tug-of-war with him. Shouting "woo hoo!" means the same thing whether a human or a bird does it. It's happiness, surprise, elation, etc.

To answer your question, in my educated opinion, NO. A bird can scream/call constantly when it (as a social animal) is not in the vicinity of company. In that case, the bird is stressed and levels of stress hormone are high. Comany turns this off like a switch and the bird quiets down. Again, this is just one example. One thing I can say with certainly is that play in animals is indicative of being stress free. Animals that are stressed will not play but remain vigilant and anxious. Consider ourselves. When something is bothering us, giving us anxiety, it's very hard to mentally put it aside and have fun.

 

[PufF]

" is it generally true that a noisy bird is a happy bird? "
To answer your question, in my educated opinion, NO. A bird can scream/call constantly when it (as a social animal) is not in the vicinity of company. In that case, the bird is stressed and levels of stress hormone are high. Comany turns this off like a switch and the bird quiets down. Again, this is just one example. One thing I can say with certainly is that play in animals is indicative of being stress free. Animals that are stressed will not play but remain vigilant and anxious. Consider ourselves. When something is bothering us, giving us anxiety, it's very hard to mentally put it aside and have fun.

Fair. So in this case the real question should be more on if play is generally a good thing, which it is?

But on the note on the vocalisation, I feel like frequent (non-continuous) vocalisation for short periods of time could be a sign of play or self entertainment? At least for Amazons or my bird? But then again could also be attention seeking so I really don't know.

Bird language is so complex! And very context dependent XD