Cockatoo language...

Hi everyone! I'm curious to know how many words or phrase are your cockatoos saying...

Audray

Hi Audray, my U2 is 6 yrs. old. We are his third home. He's been with us for ten months. We were told he could say his name and that was about all. I love bird language, so I think Popeye has a beautiful voice. It sounded awkward for a few months, like he couldn't quite get the words squeezed out of his throat, but now that he's comfortable, he has a lot to say. He says, Hi, Hello, What are you doing, I Love You Kisses, Bye-Dee-Bye Pie-Dee-Pie, and Hungry ( I always ask, "Are ya' hungry", when I take his bowl to be filled) very clearly. He says a lot in Too talk that I can't decipher yet. He sings a song every night at bedtime that the two of us made up together.
He tries to repeat everything the quaker's say and make the same noises Harry makes. He can cry like a baby, hoot like a monkey, scream like a cat, cluck, bark, and make a noise like an electric drill. The closest he can come to quacking like the Quakers is a frustrated, KWOCK, KWOCK, KWOCK. He seems to know he's not saying it like the Quakers do. Of course he's little green teachers quack their brains out to help him learn to quack correctly.

I would love to hear what other cockatoos chat about.

Allee I would love to hear Popeye talk!! LOL

Chili is just over a year old and says hey baby, I love you, pretty bird!!!, she's a PRETTY PRETTY GIRL!!!!, ohhh yeaaaah, what's up?!, it's alright ....and makes kissing sounds and little whistles when I'm snuggling her, and of course the obligatory wolf-whistle lol

I have 3 Toos .My Rb2 is the one who talks Bye bye,night night,Watcha doing ? ,Come here ,Hi buddy, Hi boy ,Julia ,Hi Char Char . Owen! Owens a good boy ,Hello,Hi ,Whats going on.

Allee I would love to hear Popeye talk!! LOL

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Shirre, I would love for you to hear Popeye talk. I've been trying to get his Nitey Nite song on video for weeks. He sees the camera and goes into Cockatoo vapor lock, every time. All my birds are camera shy, that's weird because they aren't bashful about anything else. I'm thinking of sitting up a nannie cam. When the QP's and Popeye start making animal sounds, Sweet Pea wolf whistles, that's her only comment so far.

I've heard Rose Breasted cockatoos' voices but never heard one talking in person, only videos.

I have 3 Toos .My Rb2 is the one who talks Bye bye,night night,Watcha doing ? ,Come here ,Hi buddy, Hi boy ,Julia ,Hi Char Char . Owen! Owens a good boy ,Hello,Hi ,Whats going on.

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From what I hear your RB2 and Shirre's Chille, have great vocabularies for any kind of cockatoo. Toos seem to have a reputation for not talking. Lol, now I have proof, not all Toos can be stereotyped. Not that I was worried, Popeye likes to talk and make strange noises more than he likes to scream.

All my galah says is "hello", although I thought I heard her saying things to herself once (didn't understand it). She also says "oh". That's it. I say other things to her, but she never says them back. All I get is "hello! hello!" in reply.

Our Chiquita is the talker of the two...

She can say just about anything, and will carry on "conversations" with us, she is a 17/18 year old rehome and she was well loved in her former home, so I think that has a lot to do with it.

She's says; hello, Oh hi! (in a surprised voice, like she just noticed you were in the room), Oh (like she has contemplated something and is just realizing it's true), Love you, rubbie (this is used when she wants petted under the wings). She also just comes out with random things... One morning hubby and I were having coffee, and she was trying to get to his....she said clear as day "THAT"S MY COFFEE" to which he responded No, Chiquita that's daddies coffee. She turned to me, and under her breath she said "He's stupid"...lol I have a chime clock,which she apparently is not fond of.... One night it chimed, and she said "that's annoying" I told her no it's not Mommy loves that clock to which she responded "A**H***" with a flip of her head.....

Mickey is younger (we think, we don't really have an age on her)
She will say Hello, Hi, Love you, I'm a Pretty girl, I'm a Good girl, It's a birdie, and will ask for "rocka baby" when she wants me to sing to her. She says other things, but not very clearly, but she's still learning.

Annie our almost 4 year old rescue Goffin Cockatoo says - Hi, Hi big girl, Lucy lu, Ah ah, step up,and will yell Woo hoo and throw her wings out & crest up. She days say other stuff, but she says it so fast it is hard to understand. Anytime she sees someone undressing she whistles the fox call at the perfect time lol.

Mango our 8 year old Rescue Goffin cockatoo only says Hi Mango as of now, but she also is an extremely shy and quiet bird.

Gizmo our 1 year old Goffin says _ Hi, and Hi Mango she does jabber and say other stuff but she talks super fast when she does so you have a hard time understanding.

Mina is my 2 year old U2 she says... Your good enough to eat. I love you go night night, ready ready mama sings the shinny hinny song. Says eye eye. Want to snuggy.

Four of my 8 Cockatoos speak at least one word.

Most prolific is Gandalf, a male Citron: "Gandalf" "Step up" "Pretty bird" "What are you doing?" Sometimes he'll string all of the previous in a meaningful sentence. Also makes a wicked rendition of a laugh. Speaks the name of two Goffins, "Gabby" and "Big Bird."

Three of the Goffins are essentially limited to mimicking their own names; "Gabby" "Squeaky" and "Abby." Gabby has the clearest voice and will occasionally say "birdy" when excited. Squeaky tries to speak additional words but it's all a blur of garbled chatter.

On the subject of speech, best talkers in the house are a Blue-front Amazon and a Timneh. Most clear and human-like speaker was a male Eclectus, sadly no longer with us.

My fourteen year old female U2 is a talker, some of her vocabulary includes:
-Who's a pretty girl
-Hi
-Hello
-Good morning
-Goodnight
-I love you
-What's that?
-What's up?
-Hey!
-Pretty bird
-Where you going?
- What chu doing?

She also laughs maniacally..... It's pretty sinister and creepy, actually. I'm sure I'm missing other things.

Hi everyone! I did not realised that so many persons had answered my thread... Thank you all... So I realise that Alice my 8 9 years old rescued SCC (triton or eleonora... not sure!) seems to talk a lot! She talks in French though and become frozen when I talked to her in english... Lol! One of the funniest things that is happening with her is that she will have a kind of mean cynical laugh just before us, humans, start laughing... Almost like if she understands the conversations and reacts to them before we do... At one point, I was thinkink that it could be because she was noticing our expression just before we laugh but she's also doing it when we are in another room and ear us talk or if she's watching a tv show... Anyone experienced this?

Butchie is a hoot and a complete nut case.
Haven't seen this with other Toos but he also has different tonal inflections and different voices. He has a long drawn out sweet voice where he tends to extend vowles for emphasis or pleading, then a little baby voice, and an obnoxious, demanding voice.

Craaaacker, want this, do I have a choice, Butchie Butchie Butchie bird(Normally with a hoppy little dance), wanna go out, please, thank you, let go(a game where he grabs you finger or shirt and tugs), Butchie's a pretty bird, hello(when he thinks he's being ignored he'll say it with attitude HEEEELOOOO), Neyteri(The gray), Rascal(the RBC), Scooter(the WBC)
Of course he is also fluent in TooTalk and the loud argument from time to time, chastising an invisible person complete with head shake!

Rascal (The RBC) doesn't say much at all, just a noise that sounds like "Kerchunk" and one that sounds like "Peek-a-bird". Other than the very brief morning and evening call out, he's a quiet little man.

Lol! Butchie seems pretty funny! Alice also has all kinds of tonal inflections and voices... And they change depending of our reactions! SHe's also fluent in Too language and often carries on long and expressive conversations all by herself!

When I read about all the chatting other birds do, I feel a bit disappointed with "hello!", but when she's "hello"-ing at me, I think she's just wonderful I wonder why some birds are chatty cathies and others aren't.

Moonlight said:

Hi everyone! I did not realised that so many persons had answered my thread... Thank you all... So I realise that Alice my 8 9 years old rescued SCC (triton or eleonora... not sure!) seems to talk a lot! She talks in French though and become frozen when I talked to her in english... Lol! One of the funniest things that is happening with her is that she will have a kind of mean cynical laugh just before us, humans, start laughing... Almost like if she understands the conversations and reacts to them before we do... At one point, I was thinkink that it could be because she was noticing our expression just before we laugh but she's also doing it when we are in another room and ear us talk or if she's watching a tv show... Anyone experienced this?

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Mickey does this....she actually has several laughs...the maniacal one, the under her breath chuckle, and one that sounds like she has asthma (she gasps and "chokes" while laughing). She also laughs before we do, but when it's appropriate. I think they do understand humor.

Moonlight said:

Lol! Butchie seems pretty funny! Alice also has all kinds of tonal inflections and voices... And they change depending of our reactions! SHe's also fluent in Too language and often carries on long and expressive conversations all by herself!

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LOL, sounds like Butchie!!
As with most re-homes, we don't have much information on his history.. I've always wondered if other Toos have similar traits., I've never know others to have such a range. he's like 27 years old and was obviously taught manners and was treated as a family member. He even has an "old man" cough that worried us when we first got him, but was assured that birds don't cough, it was an imitation of someone living in the house!

It's a good thing that he has such a personality, I occasionally get a little angry with his screaming when I'm trying to work. A couple of times I was at my wits end and went to the cage and yelled at him right in his face. He'd put one of his big black eyes right up to the bars and calmly say in a concerned voice, "What's the matter buddie?, You OK?" I damn near fell on the floor laughing. What can you say to that??

Moonlight said:

Hi everyone! I did not realised that so many persons had answered my thread... Thank you all... So I realise that Alice my 8 9 years old rescued SCC (triton or eleonora... not sure!) seems to talk a lot! She talks in French though and become frozen when I talked to her in english... Lol! One of the funniest things that is happening with her is that she will have a kind of mean cynical laugh just before us, humans, start laughing... Almost like if she understands the conversations and reacts to them before we do... At one point, I was thinkink that it could be because she was noticing our expression just before we laugh but she's also doing it when we are in another room and ear us talk or if she's watching a tv show... Anyone experienced this?

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We had the same experience. Butchie also laughs heartily at jokes on TV or made in another room (sometimes even before we do). It's hysterical to have a belly laugh come out of his bedroom after dark when something funny comes on TV. It's also a little unnerving to think that he actually understands humor. LOL

strudel said:

When I read about all the chatting other birds do, I feel a bit disappointed with "hello!", but when she's "hello"-ing at me, I think she's just wonderful I wonder why some birds are chatty cathies and others aren't.

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It's odd.. We have three that are pretty regularly jabbering and 5 that really don't say a word (The Caiques and the RBC) I've known CAGs that don't say a single word and only imitate noises, known birds that aren't known to talk to have quite decent vocabularies. Don't know if it's the luck of the draw, or environment. I'd love mine even if they didn't speak a word! It would sure be easier to talk on the phone without Butchie joining the conversation in Too Talk!!

Butchie, Neyteri The CAG is constantly laughing and taunting the other birds (sometimes in their own voices)
Little Budgie Niles has a squeaky little voice that jabbers away also. He's not conversational though, he's just repeating words and phrases at random like "Disco the Parakeet" of YouTube fame. (mostly when we first wake up as he's in the bedroom).

punindave...

When Alice does unnapropriate things and we go near the cage to show her we're not happy, she will say in a very soft voice and charming: ''Hello! How are you doing? I love you my little baby!''

You can understand that we melt and let go about her previous behavior! Lol!

Another really funny thing that she's doing is talking to other animals and insects... Lol!

She will say things like: Good day! How are you? You're beautifull! Lol!


MickeysMom:

So yours also seems to understand humours... Thats great! Since we have her, we are having a lot of difficulties to watch tV cause she makes us laugh too hard and we don't pay attention anymore to the program...Often, we just turn the TV off and watch her instead!