It can be great fun to own a pet bird which can talk. Some of the birds which will learn the quickest are African grey parrots, budgies, parakeets and hill mynas. There are some things which you can do to assist your pet in learning to talk and help them along the way.
Start by teaching them simple food items which they eat on a regular basis. Just like dogs and cats, birds can learn to associate descriptions with objects, so even if they’re not able to talk yet, they will be able to recognise words. Tell them what you are feeding them each time, and if they begin to make any noises which resemble a food item, reward them with that kind of food.
Say words enthusiastically. Birds can differentiate between tones of voice and you’re more likely to be successful if you sound upbeat. Be careful though, as this also means that birds might pick up other words which you say with gusto. If you shout ‘ouch’ when you stub your toe, for example, they can be very susceptible to learning phrases like this. They might also learn swear words or insults!
Birds can learn from each other, so if you have more than one let them spend plenty of time together. This is a skill which helps them in the wild and they may learn quicker from each other than they would from you. Very soon you could have your own mini flock of parrots and budgies which can chat away to each other.