by windharper » Sat Jan 09, 2010 11:25 pm
I have thought about this question as Tamber talks and Teyla doesn't. I credit Tamber's talking to the fact that he started out hand raised and then ended up in a pet store for a long time. He had no other Senegals around. The neighboring cage had an African Grey. Nearby was about 20 cockatiels and 6 lovebirds. This wasn't just a bird shop but a shop that had many dogs (across from his cage), rabbits, hamsters, fish, etc. There was always a good quantity of people in the shop.
So considering flock dynamics, I think Tamber identified with his human flock more so than the birds around him. Then there was one young lady who used to work with him. He would say, "Good morning" and several other words just like her. I talk to him all the time. I identify everything I do around him and try to be constant in the words I use to describe it. If I hear him talking, even rooms away, I answer him.
Then there's Teyla. She was raised by her parents with very little human interaction. She spent all her time with her nestmate, who picked on her, bullied her. She was one fearful bird. She always identified with her bird flock and even after Tico went to his new home, she would respond to every crow or blue jay she heard outside! Only in the last few months as I have worked with her has she finally started to care about her human flock. It is interesting to note that when I go to Teyla's cage, Tamber will start chirping like a cockatiel to get my attention away from her.
Based upon my own limited experience, I believe that environment can have a lot to do with it. I recently saw some footage on Youtube where Starlings were talking. These were birds raised by humans and not out in the wild. I felt this supported an environmental effect. I know we can't rule out that some species are more able to talk, for instance, I have never heard of a Macaw that didn't talk. One could argue both sides of nature vs. nurture.