by Naurthon » Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:35 pm
My Senegal doesn't speak. He was a rescue, and about 5 or 6 years old when I got him.
With my two other boys, they learn mostly from me repeating things over and over again. My Grey sings "how sweet it is to be loved by you", "I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning. Like a whirlpool it never ends", and "we all live in a yellow submarine", which I taught him just by repetition over time. Other phrases he's picked up from a single repetition: "brraaaaiiinns" (yes, I have a zombie parrot! LOL), "grrr...arrrg" from the end of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". (Oh yeah...and that one time daddy said a naughty word while playing computer games with Dante in the room. Dante picked that up instantly. Thankfully, he's dropped it.)
I'm teaching him to count from one to ten right now. In a week he's learned all the numbers except 4 and 7, but he doesn't always say them in order.
He has picked up a lot of other words that he hears my partner and I using, especially routine things like "breakfast is ready" and "mmm mmm mmm looks good".
I think your best bet is to just talk to your bird a lot and see what it picks up. Since my Senegal doesn't talk, I've started working with him just to respond with a whistle when I say hello. At least that way we'll be communicating.
Nikko, Black Capped Conure
(hatched April 2008)
Maxwell, Senegal Parrot
(hatched 2004?)
Dante, Congo African Grey
(hatched Nov 28, 2009)