by Pajarita » Wed Oct 04, 2023 11:05 am
Hi, Madie's mom, welcome to the forum and thank you for doing research before acquiring your new bird friend.
Now, ALL poicephalus (genus that encompases Meyer's, senegals and redbellies amongst others) are considered calm and quiet parrots but, when it comes to the 'quiet' part, it's relative. They are quieter than other parrots but they are not quiet-quiet. And it is not only that individual parrots have their own personality so some are louder than others (I had a female sennie in the rescue that was given up TWICE because she screamed all day long), it also has to do with gender (females tend to be quieter) and, MOST especially, how they live because a parrot that is alone and spends long hours in a cage will scream regardless of how quiet the species is considered.
I only have personal experience with male and female senegals and redbellies and, of those, I've found the redbellies quieter than the sennies but it could be that my redbellies were both just quiet birds so don't take this as the gospel. Zoey (F senegal) is quite quiet when alone but she likes to screech when she is on my shoulder and let me tell you that the screech of this 'quiet' bird is defeaning when done on your shoulder, My male senegal, Sweetpea, is a genius who actually speaks cognitively and I've never heard him make birds vocalizations but he can raise his voice when he feels you are not doing as he expects (like when he asks me something and I don't reply what I am 'supposed to', he would repeat the question louder -LOL)- all he does is speak human. Isis (F redbelly) never makes a single peep and Davy, the male, is also VERY quiet. BUT my birds live cage-free in a birdroom built for them, have companions of their own species, are kept on a strict solar schedule and on a fresh food diet which is not the same as feeding them pellets, keeping them at the wrong light schedule and alone and in a cage for hours and hours. Basically, what I am trying to say is that they have NO reason to scream.
So, yes, pois are quieter than other soecies of parrots but it depends on the husbandry.