Talking parrots are wonderful pets and your friends will find themselves amazed when your parrot speaks, unless they are parrot owners also. So few people realize how well a parrot can learn to imitate human speak and are even more amazed when a parrot uses words or phrases in correct content.
Talking parrots have been around since ancient times. In fact, the wall of a villa, thought to have been built about the year 2 A.D., contains a mosaic showing a long-tailed bird perching on a wine goblet along with the statement, “The parakeet becomes even more insolent when it drinks wine.†Now, never let your parakeet drink wine! It isn't good for them, but you get the idea. Clearly, they had some plucky little parrots even back then!
Talking parrots range from the small parakeet to the huge Hyacinth Macaw and just about every species in between is capable of talking. The males of each species are more likely to learn to talk than the females but never let anyone try to convince you that females of any species are incapable of speech. It simply isn't true! Many times, you'll read the female cockatiels simply can't talk, but once you own a talking female cockatiel that talks to her babies inside the nest box, you'll know the real truth!
A parrot must learn to talk because it is not its native language. It is a bit like a person who spoke English as a child deciding to learn another language, for example Spanish. It takes some time and effort to learn. Parrots have their own language, even though it is not "spoken". Their native language is comprised of body language and vocalizations. It is the range of vocalizations that parrots have which allows them to learn human speech.
To teach a parrot to speak requires some dedication. It is best to begin with a young parrot, but any parrot can learn to talk, no matter the age. However, an untamed parrot will not have a strong desire to speak. This is because a talking parrot is talking because it wants to sound like its "flock", which in the case of a tame companion parrot happens to be humans that talk all the time.
To train your parrot to talk, choose a time each day that you can consistently spend about 10 minutes with the parrot twice per day, preferably away from its cage. Ideally, have one training session in the morning and one in the evening. Choose a simply, easy to say word such as "hello" or "pretty bird" for the first efforts. Repeat this word slowly and clearly. If you are working with a budgie, speak especially slowly because these hyper little birds tend to speed up their words. Speak in the same tone of voice, pausing for a second or two between each repetition. Do this consistently, two times each day, and soon you may be pleasantly surprised when your parrot repeats the words. After learning the first word, just as with humans learning to talk, it seems that new words come more easily.