The 10 Best Talking Pet Birds

The 10 birds on our list make both top talkers and great pets, though they’re not all suited for first-time bird parents.

If you’re looking for the “Einstein” of the bird world, the African grey parrot is your bird; and for good reason. Greys show a remarkable ability to use words and longer phrases in context, so don’t be surprised to hear a grey ask for something they want.

Certified Parrot Behavior Consultant Lisa Bono, owner of Grey Parrot Consulting in South Carolina, says her African grey, Sammy, came up with the phrase “apple water” to ask for juice, her favorite treat.

They’re also experts at mimicking ambient sounds—really any sound they find interesting.

Got a leaky faucet near your greys’ cage? You might be stuck with that dripping water sound well after the plumber fixes it. The same goes for beeps, alarms, meows, and barks.

Of the two African grey parrot types available as companions, the Congo African grey is the more popular one (the other being the Timneh African grey). Greys are best for pet parents with a moderate level of experience.

Native to West Africa, Timneh African grey parrots are often overlooked compared to the larger and more vibrantly colored Congo African grey, and they’re less available as pets.

Timnehs match Congo African grey parrots as far as intelligence and talking ability goes, but they are smaller and are a darker shade of gray. Also, instead of the Congo’s bright red tail feathers, theirs are maroon.

These smart parrots need plenty of interaction and enrichment toys, plus a bird parent with a keen ability to read the body language of these shy birds.

Native to Mexico and northern Central America, double-yellow-headed Amazons are known for being great singers; some say they have a penchant for belting out show tunes and operas.

These talking birds are best for experienced parrot parents. They’re also total foodies, so watch how much you feed them. Keep them preoccupied with toys they can chew up, plus rope perches, ladders, and play gyms for climbing opportunities.

From Southern Mexico and Central America, yellow napes are known as one of the chattier of the Amazon parrots.

Similar to African greys, pet parents say they often use words in context. And like Double Yellow-Headed Amazons, they’re also best for experienced pet parents who can plan for their bird’s long lifespan, which can reach 80-plus years. 

Amazons have a reputation for being couch potatoes, so give them plenty of opportunities for play inside and outside the cage, such as ropes to climb and toys they can destroy.

Budgies are small parrots who congregate in large flocks in their native Australia—they like companionship! Budgies, short for budgerigar, are often referred to as “parakeets” in the U.S.

They’re sometimes underestimated as talkers, but don’t mistake their small size with a small vocabulary. The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledges a budgie named Puck as having had the largest bird vocabulary with 1,728 words.

Budgies can be a beginner-friendly bird. These birds need plenty of room to fly, therefore their cage should be wide and narrow. They like toys as much as the larger parrots, especially ones they can knock around and soft-wood toys they can chew up.

These medium-sized parakeets are native to India. Their primary coloring is green, but as pets they come in color mutations ranging from bright yellow, blue, and white.

These chatty birds have high-pitched voices and can learn to talk from an early age. Be prepared for your bird to say their go-to phrases on repeat. They also make good whistlers, but they can be loud.

These cockatoos are known for their ability to mimic human speech and their affectionate nature. Also known as the slender-billed cockatoo, they’re native to Australia.

These cockatoos are mostly recommended for experienced bird parents. They’re notoriously known as “Velcro-birds,” because of their need for constant attention. Work with a bird behaviorist to learn ways to encourage your ’too to keep themselves entertained, as well as when and how to respond to your bird’s attention-seeking behaviors. Make plenty of time to interact with this pet bird.

In the wild, they use their long beak to dig up roots, so give them foraging opportunities, such as hiding treats in foraging toys.

These parakeets, also referred to as Monk parakeets or Quaker parrots, are native to South America. Their natural color is mostly green with a gray belly, but pet quaker parakeets come in varying shades of blue, green, yellow, or white. They’re slightly larger and chunkier than a cockatiel.

As exceptional talkers, quakers can speak clearly and in long sentences. Like most parrots, noise is relative, and quakers can be loud when they want to be heard. They might also spend the day chattering away, so be prepared for ambient parrot sounds. 

Check that the state you live in allows quaker parakeets as pets, as some states ban them and others require a permit. Quaker parakeets need to be kept beak-busy, so give them plenty of toys to chew up.

With Eclectus parrots, it’s easy to distinguish males from females—males are mostly green and females are mostly red. No matter their sex, they can be excellent talkers and sound mimics, similar to African grey parrots. They’re the best fit for experienced bird parents.

As a whole, conures aren’t known for having extensive vocabularies. However, that’s not to say that they can’t learn a few words. Of the bunch, blue-crowned conures—native to South America—are the most talkative, with squeaky-sounding voices.

A well-socialized blue-crowned conure can be very social, and they’ll enjoy time playing with you. These birds have busy beaks, so give them a variety of bird-safe toys to keep busy.

Every birdie—big or small—needs annual vet visits and routine care. The same goes for appropriate housing, quality food, toys and enrichment, and positive interactions.

A great way to gauge what level of pet bird parent you’re at, is to take a pet birds 101-type class, often offered through parrot adoption groups. You’ll learn what it takes to be a great pet bird parent, and you might find your birdie match, too.

What is the most fluent talking bird?

Bird experts agree that African grey parrots have the best talking ability out of all other birds.

“Your No. 1 is going to the African grey,” says Bono. “I don’t see any real difference between Congo African grey parrots and Timneh African greys—they both can learn to talk really well.”

Do parrots understand what they say?

Yes, some birds appear to use words appropriately at times.

In her groundbreaking work with Alex, an African grey parrot, Dr. Pepperberg shed new light on parrots’ abilities to understand and use words appropriately. Dr. Pepperberg showed that Alex could accurately identify objects, say what color they were, and verbally express his grasp of numerical concepts.

Why are parrots the only birds that talk?

 “Actually, parrots aren’t the only ones with feathers that can talk,” Dr. Pepperberg says.

Mynah birds and starlings can talk, and “so can various corvids—though not always as clearly or as frequently as do parrots,” she adds. “They do so via a different mechanism.”

What is the easiest bird to teach to talk?

African grey parrots seem to pick up words and phrases easier and quicker than many other parrot species. They also can mimic sounds spot-on, like a doorbell ringing, water dripping, microwave beeping—if the sound interests them, there’s a chance they’ll mimic it.