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is probably the most common reason that parrot owners choose to dispose of
their parrot. It is an instinctive defense behaviour of all birds to remain
relatively silent in unfamiliar situations so it is not uncommon for a parrot
to seem quite at the pet store and for the first 2 or 3 weeks in a new home.
However, once it begins to feel comfortable in it's new surroundings the
vocalizations will begin to increase in both frequency and volume. In the
wild, a parrot's vocalizations must carry across many miles of rainforest or
other terrain, so it is by necessity very loud. Your pet parrot will commonly
celebrate the beginning and the end of each day with a short period of
"screaming", but may at times and for reasons of it's own choosing, scream for
much longer periods. This is just your parrot being a parrot. Sellers
frequently "forget" to mention this to the prospective buyer and it is not
uncommon that weeks later the new owners finds themselves in trouble with angry
family members, apartment managers, neighbors, or even the law. Some of the
most frantic calls are from people who must dispose of their pet immediately or
face eviction or legal action. The point of all of this is that you need to
know what to expect BEFORE you acquire that parrot. Below, we have
provided you with samples of the vocalizations of a small, a medium, and a
large bird to give you at least a minimal idea of what to expect. |
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This is a sample of the noise made by a macaw, the largest of the pet parrots. However, due to the limitations of my recording equipment even with your speakers turned all the way up, 100% volume doesn't do justice to the loudness of this bird. What you will hear is about equivalent to hearing the call from an adjacent room. If you can imagine twice the volume you would be pretty close to what you would hear in the same room.
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This is a sample of the vocalizations of a medium sized parrot such as the Amazon shown at right. A 100% volume setting should be representative of the noise level in the same room as the bird. A volume setting of about 50% should be simular to hearing the noise from an adjacent room. A setting of 25% is about equivalent to hearing it from an adjacent room with the door closed.
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This sample is the vocalizations of one of the smaller parrots, in this case the Quaker Parrot at right. Using the same volume recommendations as above, this is an excellent demonstration that smaller does not necessarily mean quieter. If you think this guy is noisy, wait until you hear a Sun Conure at full stride!
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point of this section is to provide a little insight into how noisy a pet
parrot can be. As you can tell from the sample sound tracks, when you bring a
parrot into your home everyone there (and maybe in the neighborhood) is going
to know it. When you acquire a parrot, it's presense has to be accepted by
everyone in the home. Many people have done so without the full
knowledge and consent of everyone in the home resulting in a great
deal of friction, discord, and ultimately another bird in a rescue. In order to
prevent domestic problems it is imperative that you and everyone in your home
know and accept, in advance, the noise levels that you are likely to
encounter and will have to live with for the next 20 - 80 years. |
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So you want to own a parrot?
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