In the wild, parrots use many different types of vocalizations to communicate information and feelings to their flock members, such as where they are, a new food source has been found, when danger is approaching and that generally, everything is well.
This is a natural instinct that they possess from the moment they are born.
Chicks call their parents to let them know that they are ok or that they are hungry, and a parent can identify the calls of each of their individual offspring.
Vocalizations that parrots use in domestic environments
Parrots communicate in domestic environments in a very similar way to how they would communicate to their flock in the wild, the exception being that their ‘flock’ is you and your family! For example, you may notice your bird calling out to you at different times throughout the course of the day.
This may be the ‘routine call’ which usually happens once in the morning and once in the evening, or perhaps your bird can hear you but not see you and wants to make sure you’re ok or that you know he is there. Your parrot may call out at meal or snack times when he is bored, lonely, tired, agitated, upset, or angry.
If you know your bird’s body language or how he normally reacts to different things, events, or objects, you will see a correlation in his vocalizations. It is a great tool for us to really try and understand and learn the personalities of our companion birds when trying to understand why they react in certain ways to certain things, and when trying to change unwanted behavior. It may help you to write down in some way that you will be able to understand best what types of vocalizations your parrot uses as a reaction to what stimulus and/or at what time of day. you should then easily be able to see patterns.
Dealing with Parrot Noises
Screaming can be very frustrating for bird owners, especially if they cannot understand why their parrot screams, or how to stop it.
If this is you, you may be at wit’s end and considering finding a new home for your parrot, but please please please do not give up hope! At least not until you can truthfully say you have exhausted all your options.
Possible reasons for parrot noises
There are many different reasons why different parrots scream. The reasons are as individual as each other bird, so close examination is needed to determine the cause of the problem before it can be fixed.
Quite often this is a case of trial and error before you get it right. You may explore many different possibilities and try many different approaches before you find something that works, but you will find something that works if you persevere because parrots don’t scream for no reason. They are intelligent creatures that definitely wouldn’t waste all that time, energy, and effort without good reason.
They are trying to communicate something to us and we owe it to them to find out what. Can you imagine how frustrating it must be for them to try and try and try to tell their beloved owner something that is obviously of great importance and urgency to them, and have nothing done about it? If you love your parrot you want to see it happy!