Female VS Male Cockatiels: Which are quiet?

I am planning on getting a young, hand-fed cockatiel. I am deciding on getting a female one. Is it 100% true that female cockatiels are always quiet?

Unfortunately nothing is ever 100% with parrots. Within the same species and even within the same gender, they can be drastically different.

I was owned by a female cockatiel for many years. Was she quiet? Well, what do you consider quiet? My Sparky could whistle and chirp, none of which bothered me in the least.

JerseyWendy said:

Unfortunately nothing is ever 100% with parrots. Within the same species and even within the same gender, they can be drastically different.

I was owned by a female cockatiel for many years. Was she quiet? Well, what do you consider quiet? My Sparky could whistle and chirp, none of which bothered me in the least.

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I read articles on books, internet, videos, breeder people, news, etc., stating that female cockatiels are generally quieter than male cockatiels. Why is that?

And if I leave the room, will the female cockatiel scream for me?

If you are super sensitive to noise, then any noise the cockatiel makes may be too much. My female cockatiel gets noisy sometimes, but I think she has a sweet voice. My perspective and my hearing may be a bit warped, I live with an umbrella cockatoo, three dogs and two quaker parrots, compared to them, my cockatiel isn't noisy at all.

Toys are important for lots of reasons, they don't necessarily cause a bird to be quiet.

My male is pretty quiet. He has learned one phrase. Pretty bird. I'm working on others.

My male cockatiel was very loud, and the female was loud at times too but less than him. He used to scream for me for 8 hours a day while I was at work, and had to be with me constantly, and when the girl lost sight of him she would do the same. It sounded kind of like a loud siren going off.

If you want something more quiet, I find my GCC to be very much so. But the sweet gentle personality of a cockatiel sometimes can't be beat :3 I love my conure to bits but she is VERY hyper.

Years ago I had a male tiel, and I don't recall exactly but I know he was not what you'd call real noisy, no.

I did however, have a neighbor once who put a male cockatiel out on the balcony daily, and man was it NOISY. If it wasn't chirping, it was singing... constantly. I 'personally' would rather hear another species. Tiel sounds aren't one of my favorites. Cute birds though and make great pets.

Nope, sorry, not true. The only 100% quiet bird is a toy bird (and even some of those are loud and annoying!)

I have a female cockatiel and my friend has a male. Our female is much less noisy and doesn't sqwaks as much. But I think it has to do with personality too.

SilverSage said:

Nope, sorry, not true. The only 100% quiet bird is a toy bird (and even some of those are loud and annoying!)

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LOLOLOL aint that the truth.... Cockatiel noise makes my ears bleed. Drives me crazy with there incessant call. I guess I shouldn't group all cockatiels as being noisy, but the ones I have encountered - I wanted to run. But I do love them and their sweet nature.

If your looking for a more over all "quiet" type bird, I'd have to say go with a parrotlet. The only time, and I say ONLY time/s because I am being quite literal here, the only time Kiwi is loud pre say is when she is "really mad" at something. Like say.... if I spritz her with water, :52: she will come unglued and her BIRDZILLA comes out. :30: She doesn't like plastic bags either, and will go to great lengths to position herself so she can attack and try and kill it.

That's her up there in the left corner... My lil green pooping machine. Over all she is a great bird, loves everyone and I can definitely say she is "mostly" quiet.

I just read your question about the female cockatiel screaming when you leave the room. Screaming when you leave the room is a behavior that any parrot, from budgie to hyacinth, fame, female, baby, elderly, ANY bird can do this if not properly socialized and trained. Also, in my experience, the happier the bird the quieter it will be IN GENERAL wi the very extreme exception of the budgie. You really need to go spend a lot of time around cockatiels before bringing one home to see if you can handle the noise.

Yeah if noise is going to be a deal breaker I wouldn't recommend a bird as a pet. Even though there's books and internet articles and breeders all saying females are quiet, a big part of it depends on the individual bird and her personality. I have cockatiels, a green cheek conure and a rainbow lorikeet and some days my cockatiels are the loudest of them all, especially the girls.

Zoe is my 16 week old baby that I have hand raised since 7 days old (parents rejected her after a week), DNA certified female, and she can be just as noisy as the rest of the birds. Some days she is really quiet (like when i'm playing music through the TV all day, she likes that) and some days I swear she just likes to hear the sound of her own voice. And that's just how she is.

Another thing is the bird may open up and become more "talkative" and noisy as she settles in and becomes more comfortable and confident in her new surroundings. I've lost count of how many times i've had people offer me free/cheap birds because it was super awesomely quiet when they got it home and after a few weeks it wouldn't shut up and they couldn't handle it anymore. My Lorikeet drives my husband batty sometimes because he gets REALLY chatty and won't let up for a while but we both just deal with it because it's part of having birds. I've begun training him to quiet down a little when he gets really carried away by saying "be quiet" and offering him a treat when he settles down, but I generally don't try to curb it unless it's just ridiculously obnoxious and we like can't hear the tv over him or something (which i'm pretty sure he does on purpose sometimes) lol.

I just really don't recommend birds as pets to people who are even the slightest bit concerned about the noise. With birds I think you should either go into it knowing that noise could very well be a big factor and be prepared to put up with it, or you choose something else.

I have 4 hand-feds that range from 6-9 months of age. We got the first 9 months ago and he just chirped from time to time until about 5 months of age when he then began vocalizing-talking (saying his name), whistling, strutting, etc. The other three are siblings. I'm 100% sure that 2 of the 3 are female because the male has tried to mate with them multiple times but we constantly break it up since they are too young. For the longest time, we thought that the 3rd of the siblings was a male because he/she mimicked a lot of the behavior of the eldest male with the exception of the vocalizing/strutting. Also, the eldest male has not made a legitimate attempt to mate with the 3rd of the siblings. So right now it's 50-50 that the 3rd is also a female or is a male that doesn't behave like most male cockatiels as far as vocalization goes. Maybe he's a late bloomer? Only time or a DNA test will tell I guess.

Overall they are only noisy around 8 am and then sometimes in the last hour leading up to the time we put them in their room at 8 pm.

Actually, as I'm writing this one of the females is having an outburst of calling (loud) and flying around the room. But it ended as quickly as it started with a duration of about 30 seconds. Usually, outbursts only last 30 seconds-1 minute with the 3 siblings but for the most part they are quiet about 95% of the time.

For the one that we are certain is male, he only differs from the 3 siblings in that he likes to spend about 5% of his day whistling or otherwise vocalizing but when he does this he isn't loud or overly obnoxious. When it comes to obnoxious calling the duration and volume is about equal to the other 3 siblings, again where we're certain that 2 are female.

Other factors:

They tend to be noisy when a room is well lit. I call them "solar-powered" in that sense since when the lights are on or it is otherwise bright in the room they tend to outburst a lot more than if natural sunlight coming through the windows indirectly is the only light source. I tend to be a low-light person that hates artificial light so part of the reason that they are quiet 95% of the day is because of my own habits as far as I can tell. After 6 pm, more lights are turned on so that is probably why they are noisy before going to bed at 8 pm.

So my advice? If you want a quiet bird, the first step is not to keep them in a well-lit environment. Both males and females tend to be "idle" or in snooze mode when the lights are low.

Overall, as others have stated, the personality of the bird also plays a big factor. I also think that being confined to a cage would tend to make them louder as well. We live in a high rise condo that technically doesn't allow birds (or even fish for that matter let alone dogs/cats) but that rule is very loosely enforced as long as the animal is not disturbing neighbors. So far we haven't received any warnings and a neighbor just asked once in passing if we had a baby or a bird since he couldn't tell the difference but it didn't bother him.

If one wants minimal quiet I'd recommend a female as long as they didn't use artificial lighting in the house as much as possible. The only tradeoff is that a male can be very comical and entertaining and that's part of the whole birb experience.

The bottom-line to your question is that there is no way to know whether the male or female Cockatiel, or any other parrot species, is going to be "louder" than the other, because it's all dependent on the individual bird you choose. That's that only 100% true answer that anyone is going to be able to give you.

My mom bred and hand-raised Cockatiels for years and years, and from her Breeders to their babies they were all "loud" or "noisy" at times. I think the reason that most people in-general, regardless of the species of parrot, say that "males are louder/noisier than the females" is only because the males in many species of parrots are the ones who are the better "talkers", meaning they are usually the ones who can speak/mimic human language better and more-often..And while this is typically true, it has nothing at all to do with their "general" noise/loudness at all.

***So the advice that I would give you, trying to be as honest as I can be, would be to say that "If having a parrot who actually talks/mimics our language is one of your wishes, then you probably want to get a male...However, if you are asking about which sex/gender of Cockatiel or any parrot species is "quieter" in-general, the answer is neither, as both genders chirp, whistle, sing, yell, scream, cry, etc. And no, I don't think that female Cockatiels are any less "vocal" in-general than the males are. It's just that the females usually aren't great "talkers" or mimickers.

And any parrot that you choose to bring home and that you bond to closely is going to scream for you when you leave the room, but not only when you "leave the room", but rather whenever you are home but not in the same room as them! This is exactly the reason that you should NEVER locate your bird's main-cage off in some "back" or "spare" room of your home, because they know when someone is at home, and if they know that someone is home but they can't see them, that's when the screaming is at it's worst! The best way to prevent the "screaming" from happening (and happening often and regularly) is to ALWAYS locate your bird's main-cage in the "main room" of your home, or the room where the people of the house spend most of their time when they are home, and the room of your home where visitors spend their time when they come over. This is usually the living room, family room, TV room, Den, etc. Forming a close bond/relationship with your parrot is going to be as much about "Passive-Interaction" with them as much as it is about "Direct-Interaction" with them...So it's extremely important that your bird's cage is in the room where you watch TV, get on the computer, play video games, read, talk to and spend time with your family, eat your meals, etc. Your bird will not only be way more socialized, friendly, and happier in-general if his cage is located in that "main room" of your home, but he will also feel much, much more content, secure, and safe that way, feel that he's always a part of the "FLOCK", as they are "Flock" animals after all, and they will be much more likely to learn to happily entertain themselves with their toys and such if they are simply in the same room that you and the others in the house are. When they are put in a spare-bedroom by themselves, or a "bird room" by themselves, etc., and you and others are out in the living room, you are not allowing your bird to be a part of the "Flock", which is obviously an innate and natural part of the way parrots/birds live, and this is what causes the constant screaming...not their gender.

3 year old thread, folks!

JUST SAW THAT THIS IS AN OLD THREAD. I guess I will leave my response in case it helps any current members with similar questions (?) haha:


If you are worried about noise, do not get a parrot.

I am assuming you are new to birds...
Have you read about the significant respiratory issues that these animals have?
You will have to totally change the ways you cook and clean, as well as your personal hygiene routines in order to protect your bird. NO chemical cleaners (period-Windex, Lysol, Bleach, Pinesol, Scrubbing Bubbles, Kaboom, Ammonia, etc etc--NONE), no Teflon/PFOA/PTFE (hidden in products that heat up, both in and outside of the kitchen), no scented products....(perfume, spray deodorant, air fresheners, candles (scented or non)..It is a giant pain to accommodate a bird in your home and it is ABSOLUTELY necessary for their health.

I have both a male normal grey and a female pearl. My female is the quietest of all my birds, and I have a couple conures and budgies. My male tiel, doesn't scream, but in the mornings he is relentless with the calls. He will call for hours until someone lets him out. I suspect he's a little spoiled but generally they are quiet. Until my boy wants something ugh. my female though, quiet as a mouse. Sometimes makes little short calls and mostly prefers to be on her own. it's really going to come down to personality.