Ever wonder how and why parrots are able to talk? I have, so I decided to write a blog about it. Parrots are astounding birds that have the ability to mimic sounds they hear. Interestingly enough, Parrots don’t have vocal cords at all; they use the muscles in their neck to contract their throats and direct airflow through their mouths. While it may seem like they are talking to us, they are really only mimicking sounds that they hear, not trying to communicate with us. Parrots aren’t the only birds with this unique talent. Some other birds that have the same ability to “speak” to us include Indian Ringneck Parakeets, budgies and cockatiels, though parrots are the most commonly known.
Birds are social creatures, who strive to interact and communicate with those around them. When in captivity, Parrots are exposed to humans more than other birds, thus driving them to attempt to interact with humans through communication. Although these birds are intelligent, the best they can come up with is mimicry. It is thought that Parrots use this mimicry as an attention grabber, so that the person will interact with them, and show them attention.
Some animals have the ability to communicate with each other, Dolphins for example. Dolphins are able to communicate with other dolphins through high pitch whistles. Apes can be taught sign language, and have been known to be able to communicate with humans in that way, but that is still not “speaking.” Some animals have the ability to communicate with different animals as well. Rattlesnakes use the rattle at the end of their tail to warm other animals that they are nearing him, and he will attack if they come to close. While a rattlesnake would warm a human as well, Birds are the only animals that can “speak” to us. Why is it that humans are the only ones able to talk? This video explains briefly why that is.
Parrots have always been an interesting animal to me. Their ability to talk as we do is uncanny. Though they can talk, I always wondered if they could learn to understand what they are saying. Animals, such as dogs, are able to learn what words mean, such as sit, with time, so I was wondering if parrots could do the same with the words they speak. I also found some animals that show these same skills that parrots do. Though they are not able to speak with the ability that parrots are, they are able to mimic some of our language, which is quite an accomplishment. http://www.oddee.com/item_98829.aspx
I was just wondering about this same question yesterday. It is really interesting to think about how animals try to communicate with humans. I find it intriguing that apes can be taught sign language because I always wondered what animals were thinking. I read somewhere that cats don’t actually meow to each other, they only meow to communicate with humans. It is neat to think that animals try to communicate with us, but we just don’t know what they are saying. I am glad that you posted this blog, because it was something that I had always wondered. I found a video of a parrot “speaking” that I thought was pretty cool:
Parrot Talking
This is a question that i’ve asked before but never gave time to search it up or have it answered so thank you for posting this! After reading your blog i researched animal communication to find any other animal that could communicate with humans or even each other and i came upon animal telepathic communication. Now this is sort of going in a different directions than what i was trying to research but it seemed interesting to learn more about. I found this website that talks a little more about what animal telepathic communication is. Some people believe that this is possible and the website gives ways to reach that with your pet. Now i don’t have any pets of my own but could this explain how someone like the Dog whisperer, Cesar Millan, can communicate with dogs? I wonder if anyone is capable of doing what he does or if he was just born with that instinct. Aside from all of that this blog was interesting to learn more about.