Having a pet is a delightful experience but having a pet bird is an even more exciting experience. While choosing pet birds, parakeets are the foremost choice of bird lovers. This feathery creature is famous because of its cuteness, small size, variety of colors, and playful nature. In addition, they are known for their talking abilities and mimicking behavior.
Parakeets usually communicate naturally by making noises; they are even more vocal during the daytime.
However, are parakeets loud? Do their voices disturb those around them?
For some, the parakeets’ voices and songs are delightful and loving, adding extra joy to the environment, whereas for others, they are just a noise that disturbs their peace.
Are Parakeets Loud?
Are parakeets loud? “Yes”. Like other bird species, parakeets are loud. This species is considered one of the most vocal and talkative of all in the bird family. But it is not the only loud pet bird. Cockatoos and parrots are much louder than parakeets.
How loud a parakeet can get is based on the type and nature of the parakeets. Some parakeets use nonverbal communication to get what they want, like Budgerigar, but some prefer to talk or chirp like Alexandrine Parakeets.
The volume of some parakeets, such as rose ring parakeets, can reach 111 decibels, below the volume of a baby cry, which is 130 decibels. However, because of their high-pitched tone screaming, the volume appears to be higher than the baby.
Parakeets can get more boisterous during the daytime, or if they have a cage mate as they love chatting with their mates. They also make noises because of many reasons, such as when they are hungry, ill, hurt, or not comfortable with their mates. Parakeets are even noisiest when they are happy or want attention from the owner. But not all are noisy; some of them are calm, too.
Noisy Parakeets
- Monk Parakeet
- Indian Ring-Neck Parakeet
- Blossom-Headed Parakeet
- Derbyan Parakeet
- Slaty-Headed Parakeet
Calm Parakeets
- Budgerigar
- Bourke’s Parakeet
How Often Parakeets Make Noises?
During the daytime, parakeets are active and get vocal. According to the University of Leiden’s scientists, parakeets that can adapt and learn from the environment are nearly equal to the capabilities of a seven-month-old baby. For example, they can express their emotions or happiness by talking and producing different sounds.
They start singing and chirping in loud voices when they want to get attention, even making noises when ill, bored, or uncomfortable. Their small chatter will be incessant and may arrest you in the beginning. But after some time, you get used to the sound.
But it is manageable. Thanks to their intelligence, parakeets are easy to manage and can be easily trained to stay calm during the daytime. What about the night? As parakeets are diurnal creatures, they are active only in the daytime and fall asleep quietly and refrain from making any noise at night. Good for the owners!
But the question still persists: Why do parakeets make noises?
Why Does Parakeet Make Noises?
When a person pets a parakeet, they get familiar with the different kinds of sounds they produce and the reasons for making those noises. Parakeets produce different sounds, sending different messages, as it is the only way they can communicate. A happy parakeet produce different sounds than the hungry or ill parakeets.
Talking among parakeets refers to chattering, hissing, whistling, and screaming and, in some cases, mimicking sounds and words.
Types of Parakeet’s Sound and their Reasons
Parakeets are happy birds, and they love to sing and talk. But they produce different sounds according to different conditions and situations. Different sounds they can make are as follows.
Squawking
Squawking is the way of parakeets to tell that something is wrong. Different reasons are attached to this unpleasing sound. There could be:
- Change in hormonal levels during mating season
- When their call gets unnoticed for food or attention
- Indicator for a predator
- Pain or physical injury
Once the issue gets resolved, the parakeet can be coaxed into stopping this sound. To help it overcome the fear of intruders, cover the cage with a cloth or put it at a place where it would feel safe.
Chirping
Chirping is the most commonly heard sound, coming from parakeets. Parakeet’s favorite chirp is a sharp single tweet sound, which takes up different tunes that could be high-pitched vocals or mellow song-like tunes.
When parakeets are happy and want to show contentment and cheeriness, they start chirping. They even chirp to greet or when they want attention from their owner.
If a Parakeet chirp whenever the owner enters the room, then it is a sign of loneliness and boredom. Therefore, try to give them attention and time, at least once a day.
Unhappy Chirping
Parakeets even produce loud and unpleasant chirps when they are angry. There are many reasons behind it. It could be due to
- Lack of food or water
- Lack of attention from the owner or fellow mate
- Displaced swing or perch
If their chirps continue and start getting louder, the parakeet may
- Feel threatened
- Experience pain or injury
- Feel discomfort
Therefore, look for the causes and try to eradicate that.
Singing
Parakeets are vocal birds but not essentially singing birds. Do not consider them great singers. That said, they can produce very pleasing sounds like whistles, chirps and even mimic sound tunes. When they are happy, they can line down different sounds to create a lovely song but tuneless, which could be taken as noise (by some people).
They usually sing to express enjoyment and happiness. If a person pets more than one parakeet, they usually sing together in a melody.
Hissing
Hissing is the only unpleasant sound coming from parakeets. They usually produce this sound when they are insecure, afraid of something intruding on their nest, or if in an overcrowded environment.
Hissing is a temporary change in the nature of birds. If a parakeet produces this sound a lot, try to give them enough space in the cage to make them comfortable. But, if this situation still persists, place them in different cages for the time being until they get along again.
Other Sounds
Parakeets are talkative, but they also are great imitators. They try to imitate the sound they hear around them, like a doorbell, phone ring, or a baby cry.
If parakeets imitate words around them, it is a good sign. It indicates that the parakeet is active, happy, and has adapted to the environment.
Even in some cases, parakeets memorize many words (more than 100) repeated around them. However, female parakeets are comparatively less social and chatty than the male. Male can be trained easily and are relatively more intelligent than female parakeets.
Sometimes, parakeets also try to talk in unusual ways and loud sounds. It is required to monitor their body language, to understand what they want to communicate (which could be a sign of anxiety or stress).
Beak Grinding
Parakeets produce a sound like plastic being scraped by grinding their beak, which appears as if they are gritting or chewing. Beak grinding is not a kind of noise. It can be compared with the cat purring.
It is produced by parakeets when they are joyful.
Beak grinding is an entirely normal gesture. If they continuously rub their two halves of beaks together, give them some toys or perches, as this habit can hurt the bird.
How To Train a Parakeet To Be Quiet?
Parakeets are intelligent birds. They can be trained easily. People love pet birds, but they do not want them to be noisy. Parakeets are famous for their talking abilities.
There are many ways you can train your parakeet to remain calm and quiet. The best way to do this is to keep them busy in different activities. Provide them swing, perch to chew, or other toys so that they do not get time to make noises.
Most parakeets start chirping when they are hungry, so refill their food and water regularly.
If a parakeet starts making noises at night, cover the cage with a blanket. In that way, the bird will understand that it is time to sleep.
Are parakeets loud? Yes, they are loud and talkative birds. But, it is not something that can’t be tolerated by human ears. Rather it should be kept in mind that sounds produced by them are associated with different meanings. For their comfort and well-being, it is essential to understand what sound is produced by the bird and why.