Senegal sounds

[Bogette]

Hello Parrot Forum.

I've written about my Senegal Bogie before, he is now living with my and my husband. He has been in our family for 20 years and he is coming from my parents house who can't look after him anymore due to many issues. So far he seems pretty happy with us aside from the usual bossy behavior. Bogie like to call out in this load high pitch scream a lot. He does it when he's eating, playing or just perched. Any Senegal owners out there who know what I'm talking about? it's a very high pitch scream and he seems to do it a a lot through out the day. It could be excitement, or a territorial call I guess? Any thoughts?

[Wolf]

My first question is where are you and your husband in relation to Bogie when he does this screaming?

[Bogette]

We could be in the bedroom, kitchen or just walking by...sometimes he'll do it when we are with him but hardly ever.

[Saerphe]

If Bogie makes those noises most often when you aren't near him, then it's probably a contact call. Parrots in the wild use contact calls to keep track of where their flockmates are, and to reunite with the flock if they get separated. If you don't like the screaming, you can try and encourage Bogie to adopt a different, more appropriate contact call. I've been working with my conure so she learns to beep like the microwave instead of scream when I'm out of sight. It doesn't always work, but she's gotten much better about it since I first got her.

If Bogie talks, you can try and encourage him to use his favourite phrase. The main thing is to be consistent in ignoring the screaming and only respond when he attempts a more appropriate noise. It can even turn into a bit of a game, like Marco Polo. Akimi and I often beep back and forth at each other from across the house for minutes at a time with varying speeds, tones, and frequencies. This is usually when I'm in the kitchen, as she's not allowed out of her cage if I'm cooking.

[Bogette]

Thanks Saerphe, I also thought it may be a contact call. Bogies also does it in the morning when I let him out of his cage for the day...he comes running out and calls out 2 or 3 times...really excited.

[Pajarita]

My male Senegal hardly ever makes a call -he talks all the time though, he's a regular chatterbox, Sweetpea is! But my female does when she gets excited. Not often but she does. She has several different vocalizations and I well know the one you are referring to because when she does it while perching on my shoulder, it feels as if my eardrum is going to split! Thankfully, she makes a little noise just before she does it (it's like a very soft prrrr) so, when I hear it, I quickly move her away a bit so as not to lose whatever hearing I have left

[Wolf]

Sounds like a contact call to me. Kiki doesn't do it very much any more. but I also always respond with a whistle when my birds call for me so most of them now whistle for me instead of screaming.

[Bogette]

Thanks for the responses, I like the idea of whistling back to him, I'm going to try that.

[ellenlevick@aol.com]

We just got a senegal male who is 3 and a half months old. He makes super loud beep beep noise constantly when we are with him…as if he wants food but he already ate. Will he outgrow this?
He is sweet but very annoying…even though he has plenty of activity and other birds (parakeets) in the room in a different cage right beside his.
Thanks for any thought on this

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your sennie. At 3.5 months, he is a very young baby and the peeping is what they do when they need food or company... it's like a human baby crying. And it might be that he IS hungry. Are you handfeeding him 3 or 4 times a day? Does he get two different kinds of soft food served fresh and warm twice a day? Does he spend 6 to 7 hours a day with you? Baby birds are like human babies and require A LOT of attention and work. You need to feed them often, they need to be held and can't be left alone for long.