Is there any truth...

[josiesmom]

To male b&g macaws being much more chatty than females? Josie's former human didn't have DNA testing done and so far, I haven't but someone mentioned that males talk way more than females. Her former human named her Josie because she liked the name and had no intentions of breeding so it didn't matter to her. I have no real reason to know her gender other than curiosity so perhaps some day I will get up the nerve to pluck those feathers and send them in for testing. Interestingly, the person who said males talk more had a confirmed male who never spoke. Any thoughts?

[Macawfancy]

Anita, we have a male who is very chatty and a female who is quite quiet. Not sure about stereotyping the species, but am interested in hearing what other owners have to say too.

[Turquoise]

Well, I have 3 macaws. 2 are half B&G & male & they are very talkative. They knew a couple of things when they came to live with me. I am their first & only owner since leaving their breeder's home. They can say a lot of phrases already, Angel is 2 yrs. old & Roscoe will be 2 in Sept.

I also have my Green Wing female, Ruby Jewel. She is 10 months old and so far she is not a big talker. Right now she can say Hello, I love you, Ruby Jewel. That is about it for her & her words are not as clear yet as my boys. My boys did say way more by this age, but I can't actually say it is because they are males verses females. My thought on this is that Green Wings take much longer to wean, therefore they mature slower than the B&G or Scarlet which is the other half of my 2 boys since they are hybrid Catalinas. I think Ruby Jewel will just take longer to get to the same point of development, but in the end will be just as good a talker as her 'adopted' brothers. That is just my opinion on it tho.

Not the same species, but my best talker in my house by far is my Eclectus female, Leyla Belle. She listens to everything!! And she loves to learn in phrases rather than single words. I have read through the years that in many of the parrot species the males are the best talkers. I have never found out if it is speculation or documented truth. In all of my parakeets I have owned, I never had a female to talk. I did have 2 very good talking male budgies.

[Pinkbirdy]

My female Catalina Macaw does say things [more now that shes 2] But Ive heard stories of Male Macaws having big vocabularies .I think it has something to do with the bond you form with them [meaning they want to please you]. Im sure most birds get a reaction when they talk. The best talking bird ive seen is the male Eckie "Riley" on you tube [I think his owners English]. What does Josie say ? How old is she?

[josiesmom]

She just turned 3 and she doesn't stop. Here are some of the most frequent/favorites:

Hello
Don't do that
Shut up
Knock it off
Rub my feet
I love you
Evan get up
Rob!
Heather!
Mom
Pop
Brothers
No
Thank you
Come here
Rippy
Wanna go out?
Come on
Lets go
Bird girl
Bird bird bird
Josie good girl
I'm a good girl
Oh do you like that?
Pretty bird
Pretty girl
Mmmm I like that
Calling dad

She usually goes through the whole list while we eat dinner which is quite entertaining. She does on occasion add in a few not so nice words as well, but you get the idea. I think she has a very good vocabulary for just being 3. What do you think?

[Rescued]

She talks WAY more than my B and G. She says, step up, Sparky, and Hello!, thats about it.

[Pinkbirdy]

WOW !! Josie talks a ton :)

[Blancaej]

Savannah says very few things.

Hello
Hi
How are you?
Cracker
Gimmie Kisses (with kissing noise)
Barks like a dog

I blame that on 18 years of living in the laundry room with the door closed. The laundry room used to go into the craft room a few years back but that still isn't in the center of the action in a home. I am finding that she is already starting to try to say new things. We just haven't made them out yet. So I'm not convinced it is because she is female. But who knows!

[coltfire]

well i think ill wait and see a few more comments before i decide on a male or female, but then when im ready it will also come down to what is out there at the time, its gr8 if they talk but as long as they show love thats all that matters because they will gets lots back.

[JLcribber]

It's quite common and truthful that the males of most species of birds, not just parrots, have a larger repertoire of sounds and vocalizations than the females. They are the ones that do the courting and attracting of mates and the better display they put on the better the chance of attracting a mate.

This is very similar to why the males of many species are brightly coloured while the females are exactly the opposite and not colourful at all.

[Safira]

She says a lot! My Female B& G is still working on words. She says "Hi" very well, laughs, and is learning the Kissing sound when I say give me a kiss. She also says Hello. and she's working on other words but I can't hear them well yet. She just turned 2.