Which Poi?

I'm sure this has been asked many times before, but how common is screaming in the poi birds? Which species tend to be the sweetest, most likely to be a non screamer? I know each bird is different, just trying to research. I tend to find cockatiel, conure, Amazon, caique noises a bit too loud for me, don't want to make a mistake as I won't rehome

My experience is based upon two Senegals, both rescues. Both tended to be quieter birds and I think that may be true of most Senegals overall.

However.....

They have an occasional high pitched screech that can pierce your ear drums. It is loud and kind of painful. My first Senegal, Kelly, only did it when I was leaving. It was a sad "Don't go!" type of thing that broke my heart every time. Other than that, she hardly made a sound.

My current Senegal, Sidney, has a head splitting shriek that he does far too often. One of my Blue Crown Conures is a constant noise maker. She squawks continually and he responds to every squawk she makes with a shriek. Equivalent to a kid screaming "Shut up!" at his noise making siblings, I suppose. I put the Blue Crowns to bed earlier than Sid and he immediately quiets down to a few beeps, peeps, hoarse honks and a few other softer noises. If it were not for Tootsie's constant noise I think Sid would be a quiet bird. As I write this, Sid is preening on the arm of my couch and I don't think he has made a sound for at least 15 minutes.

FYI, the high pitch noise the Senegals make can go through walls a lot easier than the lower pitched Conures. I can hear Sidney down the street but can only hear Tootsie and Rosco when I get closer to the door.


As for your question of "sweetness", that is so much of an individual bird thing that is almost impossible to answer. Generally, Senegals have a bit of a reputation of being strong willed and can be powerful biters. They might have the 'pit bull' reputation of birds in some ways. Some of the best dogs I have ever known were pit bulls. They were raised right and showed none of the bad traits the breed is known for. But raised wrong and you have a dangerous animal on your hands.

My first Senegal came to me as a frightened wreck but she turned into the sweetest, most gentle bird I have ever known. I don't know too much of her history but a lot of careful treatment and she became a beauty. Her easy loving nature astonished people who knew her before I adopted her.

From what I know, Sidney was a bit of a neglected bird for the first 5 years of his life. Spent all day alone outside in a cage on a porch. He was not socialized well and as a result he is strong willed, independent, and when frustrated he can give a bite that is to the bone. He tests me every day in some manner to see what he can get away with. He will turn 10 in July and I keep hoping that he will calm down some with age. But no signs of that yet, unfortunately.

So in conclusion: Senegals are mostly quiet birds that seem to like a quiet environment. But like all parrots, they will have their noise making moments. Sweetness is individual, of course, but good hand raising will certainly increase the chances of having a loving bird.

Best of luck to you in finding "The One" in your search!

Bumping this back up, hoping others will respond

Thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate it! You sound like the perfect and patient parrot owner, you have two very lucky Senegals that sound like wonderful birds. I actually just put a deposit down on a little female and am so excited about her, it'll be a couple months until she is ready but worth waiting for! I have always wanted a Senegal, love the Meyers too. Again, thanks for sharing your experiences ��

Congratulations! Hope you have the best of times with your little girl. Keep that birdie brain busy with toys and puzzles. And lots of activity. Senegals are quite trainable as long as they are not stubborn brats like Sidney. Look for some videos about Kili the Senegal on YouTube. You will be amazed at what she can do.

Keep us posted with pictures when she comes home!

Oh, BTW since I just noticed that you have other birds. Senegals are usually not friendly at all with other birds. Big attitude that could get into trouble with other members of your flock.

My Senegal is pretty quiet and only makes pleasant sounds except for about an hour after she wakes up in the morning. Once she wakes up she wants out of that cage and she lets me know it. Then she wants to be on my shoulder too and scream right in my ear which is a bit annoying. But after that one hour in the morning she's fine. I guess maybe she's just full of energy after sleeping all night.

Opinions on getting 2 babies that were weaned 3 weeks apart? Hoping they get along with each other and us?

I don't have experience with having two Sennies at once but there is a person that has a brother & sister pair. I don't recall a post from her for a while, though. I think she once described them as wanting to "eat each other" if they came together. Does not sound like they get along at all.

Sidney gets jealous of my Blue Crowns when they are with me so I have to keep him locked up while I give them attention to prevent him from going after them. He seems to target 30+ year old Tootsie and I don't want my old girl getting injured. He is better than he was 5 years ago when I first adopted him but I still try not to take chances.

So as a general rule it might be safe to say that Senegals don't like other birds including other Senegals. Of course, you might end up with a pair that bond to each other and will bite the dickens out of you. And believe me from experience, you don't want to get a bite from a Senegal. Given the choice, I'd rather get bit by one of your Greys. They hurt and bleed less.

I have both a Meyers and a Jardine's. Both are quiet birds. And both are extremely cuddly.
They tend to be one person birds though. Having others regularly handle and feed them will help them not to be.
Pois are amazing parrots!

Thank you all for your thoughts, I am very excited about our little senegal, I had found a littl female Meyers too and was debating on getting her too. They will be weaned 3 weeks apart, wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not