Anitha cowan has launched new African Grey Parrot forums

As a bulletin board for the ones who love the African Grey
Parrot, greforums.net – even though it has a small community -
tries to address issues that the African Grey lovers encounter-
Training, feeding, and living with this unique bird, which is
considered to be one of the smartest, interesting and most
intelligent birds.

Young hand-fed African grey parrots may start to mumble human
sounds at a few weeks of age. Just as wild parrots learn natural
vocalizations from their parents, companion parrots learn to
imitate human sounds from their “surrogate parents.” The first
words they learn are usually simple words their owners have
repeated often with enthusiasm like ‘Hello’, ‘UP’, ‘Hi!’, or
‘Wanna Bite’. Some greys start talking at a young age while it
is not unusual for others to start talking after they are over a
year old. I am often surprised when people tell me their greys
are not talking, yet I listen to them and I hear words. Parrots
learn to talk much like small children. When they hear certain
words over and over, they start practicing the sounds. At first
the sounds are simply incoherent mumbling but the proper
inflections are often there. This is the origin of much
‘baby-talk’ in humans. Just as small children need an adult to
listen carefully to pick up what the child is trying to say,
young greys also need a human to reinforce the words they are
trying to learn and teach them to say the words correctly. Pay
close attention to the mumbling and you will begin to hear the
words as they develop. Remember although a grey bappy may be
fully feathered and looks much like an adult, they are still
learning a great deal. Don’t expect too much. Your six month old
baby grey will not learn the “Gettysburg Address.” Be patient -
and work with your youngster even though he may just be mumbling
incoherently. Successful learning in intelligent species often
requires more maturity Greys who have shown no indication of
talking by the time it is 2 or 3 years old may not become good
talkers. However, I do know of many exceptions. These are often
birds who are placed in new situations where they receive more
stimulation and attention. Please do not misconstrue this to
mean that if your grey does not talk, he is unhappy with you.
Many of the non-talking greys I have met have been contented
parrots. Another misconception I have heard is that parrots will
not learn anything new after a certain age. This is absolute
nonsense. Bongo Marie, my grey who is at least 25 but may be
well over 40, is constantly learning new words, expressions,
sounds, and even sentences.

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