Weird budgie sounds

Question
Hi! When the water runs in the kitchen, my budgie  gets really happy and makes a bunch of different sounds. He does the regular chirping, the funny laughing sound, and these other weird noises I'd like to ask you about. I'm wondering if maybe he could be imitating the water running, because he makes this strange low gurgly sound in his throat. I read that budgies also "warble" but don't know what this sounds like. Could you describe it to me? I'm wondering if maybe he's really just warbling or doing some other budgie sound instead of actually mimicking the water. I've never heard a budgie imitate anything or even talk, so I have no idea what he would sound like if he really was imitating something. Also, he ONLY makes these weird gurgling sounds when the water is running, which is another reason I'm wondering if he's making water sounds. He LOVES the sound of the water like crazy. By the way, in case it matters, he's 3 months old and I've had him for one. And I've been told that becacuse of his blue cere and his playfulness, he's most likely a boy. Thanks for your time; it is much appreciated that you do this for free and everything. =)
Krisi  

Answer
Hi, Krisi.  Thanks for posting your questions.

You are correct.  If your budgie's cere is completely blue, no white around the nares (nostrils), he's a boy.  Male budgies/parakeets can learn to talk well.  Yours is a bit young to be talking yet, but sounds to me like he's doing just what you describe....he's mimicking the sound of the water.  This would be a precursor to saying words.  I've had several male budgies/keets who learned to speak very well.  Parrots (your budgie is a parrot) will also mimic a telephone, microwave, or anything else they hear, so be careful what you say around him!  For example, when they hear a telephone ring, they might say "hello" because they've heard you say this after hearing the phone ring.     

I don't know what you mean by "warbling", but I'm sure it would be hard to describe in writing!  Parrots make all types of sounds that are sometimes difficult for us to decipher.  They tend to speak faster than we do, so when trying to teach them to speak, talk a bit slower than you normally would so when the bird repeats the words, you might be able to understand what he is trying to say.

If you have more questions, come back.  I have a website  that might help answer any other questions you might have about caring for your new parrot:  http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Thank you for your nice comments.  I love talking about and helping people with their birds.

Chrys