Yes, he talks to me every day . . . but he hasn't spoken a word yet. He chirps, clicks, whistles, coos, murmurs, growls and squeaks to name a few of his sounds. Some of his sounds which I've identified are:
Excitement -- a short, loud, high-pitched whistle. Usually only done once. I most often hear this when he's in his cage and I'm walking towards him with his breakfast or dinner bowl of food. I often sing, "Oh, look what's for the little bird." Then he stretches up tall trying to see what I have, while he gives this call.
Possessiveness -- a growl if I touch a toy or his food or water bowl. This only occurs if I'm not playing with him or changing his food or water at the time. A firm to hard bite can follow this sound.
Play -- a clucking/clicking sound, similar to his possessiveness sound. This is made when I'm playing with him by finger wrestling (he initiates this by leaving his perch on my finger and squirming his way between my index finger and thumb, into my palm. He may do this on his belly or back) or when co-playing with his foot toys. During this play his bites are usually firm, but not painful towards me, unless he gets too excited and carried away. During this play he is very aggressive and hard with bites on his toys.
Contact Call - a long, loud, high-pitched whistle. This may be repeated over and over until I reply or return. He gradually reduces the frequency of this call till after 20 minutes, he may make one call every few minutes. This is the loudest sound Pepper makes. His cage is in a room in the back-side of my house. With all the windows and doors closed, I can clearly hear him when I'm outside, in front of my house. He originally did this when I'd leave him alone in a room. Now he usually only does it when I leave the house. He shows his intelligence too. If while leaving I say, "I'll be right back" or "I won't be long" he usually doesn't contact call. If I say, "Bye-bye, see you later" he usually makes the contact call.
Inquisitive -- a single, medium duration, medium volume, medium-pitched whistle. This often occurs when I walk by him carrying something and don't stop to show it to him.
Relaxation/Contentment -- this will be a mixing and blending of the various sounds he makes. This is always done at a low volume and is a very gentle, soothing sound. He does this after eating or playing. He often naps after doing this. He makes these sounds when I'm not paying direct attention towards him. I'm usually reading or working on the computer when he chooses to make these sounds.
Another sound showing contentment is when Pepper grinds his beak. He often does this when he's on the verge of napping during the day.
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Pepper is relaxed in this photo. See how his feathers are lightly fluffed. |
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Stretching -- he makes a very low, soft whistle while stretching his wings.
Here I am, come and get me -- this will be a mixing and blending of the various sounds he makes, but this is always done at a higher volume and with hard, harsh sounds. This is only done when he's in his cage and I'm in another room watching television or socializing with friends. As soon as I walk into the room he is in he quiets down, making quiet, friendly clicks, whistles and chirps.
Frustration -- a short snort of air out of his nares (nostrils). If something doesn't go his way, he makes this sound. It is made when he's playing quietly by himself or interacting with me. This is a new behavior which started in May 2006.
Imitating sounds is a known strength of Senegals. Pepper has only two sounds I know he is imitating. One is the beep of the buttons on the microwave when I program it. The other is the ring of the telephone. It took him a while to master the telephone sound, then one day he matched the sound and cadence as the phone was ringing. Luckily for identification, his ringing sound is louder than the real phone, so I know when to get up and answer the phone. He uses his intelligence with this sound too. Now when I leave the house and say "Bye-bye, see you later", then close the door, he makes this sound instead of making his contact call. If I don't return after four "rings" he begins with his contact call.
I still work at teaching Pepper to talk. I work with three phrases: "Hello", "Pretty Bird" and "I Love You". He's beginning to murmur "Love You" or at least I think he is. It's a different sound, low volume and high-pitched. He only makes this sound after I say "I Love You" and only when I'm holding him. For a bird to talk to you, it needs to want to communicate. I probably have hurt this because I'll imitate many of Pepper's sounds back to him. He's better at teaching me to speak parrot than I am at teaching him to speak English. No matter if he never says a word, he talks to me all the time.