Fact or Myth?

[Joanie Noel]

Hi everyone. Haven't posted in awhile, so I hope things are going well with all of you and your lovie families. My four are still thriving and turning into adults too quickly! :)

I am birdsitting for a friend of mine while she's gone for two weeks and she has a Nanday Conure. I just love this bird! I've heard before that larger parrots (even a Senegal, Meyer's, or Red-Bellied) << my favorites >> would mimic my lovebirds. I'm not ready to acquire a larger parrot right now, but I don't know if I'd want to later on if its quiet demeanor might turn loud if it mimics my lovebirds. Remember, I live in a 2-BR apartment, lol.

Is there truth to this?

I appreciate any answers you can give me! :)

- Joanie

[Jezz]

Some birds will mimic other birds that are around them.....i have a Lovebird that thinks he is a Ringneck :rofl:
It doesn't mean that a larger parrot will mimic a Lovebird but it can happen

[MaraJade]

I can give you personal experience on this and it should help a bit since the bird I’m talking about is a quaker and they are just as loud as conures are known to be. But quakers also talk and can be very quiet so it would apply to quieter birds as well.

I have eight lovies right now and one quaker. Gunther is the quaker. He loves to talk. He will say “whatcha doin?” all day and play peekaboo with you. BUT when he thinks the lovebirds are getting more attention he will trill just like them! So much so that we will sometimes yell “Button!” (One of the lovebirds) to get them to be quiet and then realize it was Gunther all along.

Make no mistake, a bird that can talk and mimic is going to be great at figuring out what gets your attention, whether it’s a lovebird call or the fire alarm. Something to consider. (By the way, we are in a two bedroom too and I think it all depends on your tolerance. The noise doesn’t often bother me and our neighbors say they barely hear it. But it drives John crazy. :whistle: )

[Sasq]

Our Senegal DOES mimic lovebird sounds, however not as loud.
Also in a reversal, the lovebirds seem to be making a few sounds that the Senegal makes.

Mostly the Senegal just goes "Muuuuummy" and "up yup" with the ocasional "bu bu" (bye bye) - but what sat chirping and trying to get attention, of mummy fails, then out come the lovebird noises.

The lovebirds are also making some strange boing type noises! I have no idea where they got those from.

[jknezek]

My eclectus has never mimicked my three lovebirds or vice versa. I live in a 2bdrm apartment as well and have never had a problem. Although, people that come to my place can't believe how loud my lovies are during the day. Kiwi, my ekkie, only talks when I'm around and only yells (so far) when he wants something or needs something. Be careful in researching your larger parrots. Conures are know to be loud although I have met several Patagonians and Suns, supposedly the loudest, that were quiet and several Black-caps, supposedly the quietest, that screamed with the best...

Jeremy

[Z28Taxman]

Some birds will mimic other birds that are around them.....i have a Lovebird that thinks he is a Ringneck :rofl:
It doesn't mean that a larger parrot will mimic a Lovebird but it can happen

Ditto thinks he's a sparrow most of the time. :rofl: Although he's attempted robin and cardinal songs. I told him never to try it again, he can't sing a lick and sounded more like someone stepped on a cat. :rofl:

[bellarains]

Hey Joanie,

I have a GCC as you know, and he does like to chatter with my lovies, but the noise level really isn't that bad. I do think allot of it has to do with the indivudual birds themselves, as some of the same species make more noise than others though. I have heard many here say that their lovies are noisey, while others say theirs make hardly any noise at all.

I think to us bird lovers the noise level doesn't really effect us, but to others it hurts their ears. From all I've heard, most people in apartments aren't bothered by the birds, but again, I guess it would depend on the birds, and their voice levels. The loudest Cappie ever gets is when he yells, "MAMA", and yep, I think that's pretty loud, it's also very cute, and gets the reaction he was looking for ;)

[linda040899]

Birds tend to mimic sounds that they like and it's sometimes amazing just what sounds they like! Ginger does the perfect fire siren. Harley does the Nextel "beep" that cannot be distinguished from the real thing except for the fact that I no longer have the Nextel phone! :lol Alex has a laugh that is all me.

[bellarains]

TeeHeeHee,

Alex makes me laugh, but my favorite is when Georgie yells, ALLLLLEEEXXXX, that's all Linda too :rofl:

[linda040899]

Actually, Lori, Harley is the one who yells "ALEX!" Is it me he's mimicking? I'll leave the answer to that question to those who have hear Harley's version.....

[LauraO]

I agree that it depends on the individual bird. While there are so-called quiet birds that doesn't necessarily mean the bird you get will be quiet. We have our Meyer's Parrot Cookie and it's not that he's quiet, it's more that his chirps are like high pitched screeches, and he will screech and screech and screech if he wants attention. He's also taken to making disturbing sounds when he wants attention. We live in a house but it's a very quiet neighborhood so he can be heard quite a ways away.

I guess the best advice is to expect the worse case scenario and if you can live with that possibility then you should be okay :rolleyes: .

[bellarains]

Oops,

That's right, it's Harley, how could I forget that, that was my Daddy's name :)

Oh, and you can bet your sweet arse it's you he's mimicking :rofl:

[BarbieH]

Linda, it's got to be you -- unless anyone else in your house yell's "Alex!!" :lol

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I've heard it - and I'll say that the parrot's impression of Linda saying "ALEX!!!" is dead on. :)

[mjm8321]

Our Quaker made horrible attempts to imitate the Lovies ( but mastered my laugh so well it gave me chills), but the Senegal does a good job, though Senegals are generally quite birds. A Nanday Conure can certainly imitate a lovie, but Nanday's are known for rivalling Macaws in volume, so if you don't mind it loud....get yourself one of those beauties!

[Janie]

My Oliver loves the Blue Jays more than any other back yard bird. He calls to them all the time but only in his normal calls and even though Blue Jays are famous mockers, they have yet to give him a "lovebird" call back. Oliver has never come close to calling them with their natural calls.

[Sparkette65]

when I was on the phone with Linda, I heard her yell "Alex" (now I am sitting here wondering if it was Linda yelling his name or the Harley)
Well Linda,,,if it wasn't you, he sure does a good job using your voice! To be sure! :rofl:
Lori

[Z28Taxman]

My Oliver loves the Blue Jays more than any other back yard bird. He calls to them all the time but only in his normal calls and even though Blue Jays are famous mockers, they have yet to give him a "lovebird" call back. Oliver has never come close to calling them with their natural calls.

Ditto is so good with his sparrow talk that they will come over to the screen door when he calls to them.

There is a Mocking bird that comes around here sometimes. I'm waiting to hear him make a lovie call. Maybe he already has. I could have sworn I heard a lovebird call a few weeks ago coming from a tree across the street. Haven't heard it again though.

[Janie]

Dave, I am loaded with those back yard bullies, the Mockingbirds! They NEVER imitate Oliver! The nerve, right???? :D How can they call themselves Mockingbirds when they can't "mock" a lovie???? :confused:

[Z28Taxman]

Dave, I am loaded with those back yard bullies, the Mockingbirds! They NEVER imitate Oliver! The nerve, right???? :D How can they call themselves Mockingbirds when they can't "mock" a lovie???? :confused:

I love mockingbirds. I want one as a pet! I usually have to go to my brother's house to see them. He has a pair that nest there. They don't bother the other birds there because he's in the sticks so there's plenty of room. Too bad they don't chase off all the sparrows. Those are the bad ones. They take over the eastern bluebirds nestboxes.

[Elle]

Blu does a perfect imitation of a canary. he has the trilling part so well it's hard to tell the difference between him and a real canary.
He was either too close to the canaries at the store or I adopted a canary disguised in a blue lovebird.

[Joanie Noel]

Wow, I didn't expect so many replies. :D I haven't been online for two days because I moved into my new apartment and don't have internet until Wednesday, so I'm at the Nanday mama's home computer right now. Lola is sitting on her playstand next to me dancing to the radio. Seems like all she does is dance all day and it's scary how perfectly on beat she is. :rofl: Such a character, such a character... I think I lost hearing in my left ear, though, because she screeched so loud while on my shoulder. :blush: Now I know what she's capable of! LOL.

I don't think I want a Conure (although they are some of the most beautiful birds), but I've been reading up on other birds that I mentioned. I'm just going to stick with lovebirds for now. A guy I work with surprisingly is a huge bird enthusiast and breeds lovies and soon-to-be canaries, and he said he'd give me a male canary for free in the future! Seeing as how canaries here are about $140 each (the one reason I haven't invested in one yet), I'd take him up on the offer! :D It does kind of puzzle me how a lovebird can cost so little and a small little canary can be so much more expensive... Lovebirds need much more care, you know?! Mind boggling...

- Joanie

[Sparkette65]

you can get a canary up here for about 20 or 30 bucks...lovies are always more expensive out here than a canary. Although they are a beautiful bird and they do sing very nicely, I dont really th ink they can be hand tamed....
anyone....can they be handtamed??
Lori

[Joanie Noel]

I very highly doubt a canary can be hand-tamed. :lol That's not my intention. I would get one because they are pretty to look at, sound nice, and I could probably provide it with one of my many good-sized extra cages. I'd love to see how my lovies would react to a different kind of bird in the home. LOL! Hmm, they might actually become more vocal... maybe not a good idea, haha. We'll see what happens!

- Joanie