Cockatiels by nature can vocalize sounds, whistle, and imitate their owner’s words. There can be gender differences in vocalizing sounds because male ones are more vocal than females.
So, do female cockatiels sing or talk? Yes, female cockatiels do sing or talk. Studies show that female cockatiels can sing or talk. You’ll just have to pay attention carefully. However, a small percentage of female cockatiels can do it.
Most female cockatiels tend to watch male cockatiels do the chattering and put a show for them. This is the way of the male ones to get females’ attention. Also, it is a natural sign of courtship and signals mating season.
As part of the cockatoo family, female cockatiels can produce sounds such as scream, whistle, chatter, sing, hiss, and even contact call.
Their personality, however, differs compared to male cockatiels. They seemed to be quieter than male ones.
But, the same as male ones, they can talk and even sing. However, most people assume that when a cockatiel is vocal, you can conclude already that it’s a male. Unfortunately, it’s not what you think.
You can read some facts below about female cockatiels’ ability to talk and sing—also, the kind of sounds these birds can produce and how you can teach them well.
Contents
Are Female Cockatiels Quiet?
Each cockatiels’ personality varies depending on its surroundings, early socialization, hormones, and their owners, whom they modeled their behavior on.
If you are a person who values more tranquillity and stillness, then female cockatiels are best for you. So, to answer the question: Yes, female cockatiels are generally quiet.
Female cockatiels being quiet are often mistaken that they cannot be able to talk or sing at all.
It is typical for the midsize bird such as cockatiel to cause too much noise. But compared to male cockatiels, female ones are not too loud and make only little noises.
They are a bit shy or reserved and like to stay quiet all the time. Thus, female cockatiels can be a great feathered pet if you live in an apartment or building units with thin walls.
A typical noise that may be produced includes talking to birds in the neighborhood or their mates in the cage and interacting with you on a vocal level to show their affection.
You Might Also Read – Cockatiel sneezing
Are Female Cockatiels Vocal?
Cockatiels vocalize in order for them to communicate with their owners. Undeniably, male cockatiels are very showy and vocal. They can catch and learn sounds better than females.
But are female cockatiels vocal? Yes, they can be vocal.
However, their ability to do so, such as mimicking words or vocalizing sounds, is very poor. Also, in comparison to males, they are less friendly, fearful, and prone to hissing or biting.
Although, females can whistle just like a male. This behavior is part of their courting behavior.
Female cockatiels can even sing, but a few of them only. But take note that they can be trained to do that. It’ll just take some time.
What Sounds Do Female Cockatiels Make?
Female cockatiels make sounds such as – distinctive chirp; whistle copied, again and again, deep extended wolf whistle, sharp screech, rhythmic tweets, a minute whistle melody, hissing, and a light squeak during dozing.
Usually, female cockatiels hiss once they feel threatened or are not used to interacting with a particular person. They can also whistle some words when they are happy or want to communicate with their owner. Also, they mimic words that they hear from their owner but not often.
When they are sleepy, they squeak lightly or make some attention-grabbing chirp. This signals your time for sleep.
Female cockatiels chirping may signal that there is danger or threat. It can be a way of calling your attention until you respond to them.
You Might Also Read – Why do cockatiels shake their heads?
Do Female Cockatiels Talk?
Generally, it is only seldom for female cockatiels to talk. They have difficulty in pronouncing words or imitating sounds. However, it is natural for them to mimic human words and whistle.
Thus, if you are asking if they can talk, then the answer is clearly yes. They even talk with their co-cockatiels or mates inside the cage.
It can be challenging for feathered pet owners, but with patience, you can teach your female cockatiel to talk.
With repetition and training, it can be possible. These birds are intelligent ones. They respond very well to training and are easy to tame and very affectionate.
Perhaps, they don’t talk or learn at all because, by nature, males are the ones who initiate communication with females when mating in the wild.
What Does It Mean When Female Cockatiel Sings?
In a study, an average of 64% of female tropical birds sing. Tropical birds include families of cockatoo.
A female cockatiel may sing whenever it’s breeding season. Some researchers found out that in the wild, females sing to claim their territory.
Besides, singing can be a sign of a happy bird. Most of the time, these feathered pets sang their favorite music genre, or they love to get your attention.
Cockatiels may start singing until they whistle and squeak.
At What Age Do Female Cockatiels Sing?
Birds like cockatiels do not start vocalizing until they reach eight months old. However, you may start training them earlier.
Female cockatiels, mostly, do not sing. There are quite a few females that are taught by their human caretakers.
On average, you may initiate teaching them from 3 – 4 months old. At this age, you can start introducing them to genres of music repeatedly. It has to be this early since it’ll be a challenging process and needs a lot of patience for both the cockatiel and the owner.
But cockatiels, in general, start singing at the age of 8 months onwards.
Why are cockatiels twisting and twitching heads? Read our article.
How To Teach Your Female Cockatiel To Sing Or Talk?
Indeed, a family of cockatoos is born to be natural vocal species. The way they talk or learn to mimic words depends significantly on their environment. A talkative feathered pet owner will most likely have a very vocal cockatiel.
Some tips can help you teach your cockatiel to sing or talk. Here is some of it.
1. Repetition
It is one of the most effective techniques to learn. Train your female cockatiel with a schedule. To enhance their natural vocal abilities, train them at least 2 to 3 periods a day.
In that period, make sure to have 10 minutes of devoted and undivided attention for them. It is also ideal for training your feathered pet in three different sessions – morning, afternoon, and evening.
Try to introduce them one phrase at a time. It should be short and straightforward. Also, teach your bird using a low tone of voice since they already have high pitch voices.
By the time they learn a word or phrase already, start adding one more by improving their vocabulary.
Repeating those words or phrases will require you a lot of patience. Be tolerant of your female cockatiel; otherwise, they will be frightened. And that will lose your progress.
2. Positive Association
When teaching them with words or sounds, focus more on the words that your female cockatiels like. You can associate it with the things your cockatiels want the most such as the name of food.
You may also do it with actions. And utter words such as “hi” or “hello” when entering the house and “goodbye” when leaving. This will help your female cockatiel pick up the words or phrases quickly.
In singing, you can expose them to a variety of songs or sounds regularly. The more they are exposed to it, the faster they can learn to imitate those sounds.
Aside from that, link words with fun activities such as going out of the cage, playing games, or giving them treats. This is known as positive reinforcement that works well for your pets to achieve sustained behavior.
It is also recommended to greet your feathered pet with empathy daily.
3. Teach With Excitement
You can get and sustain your pet’s attention if you can show excitement and enthusiasm with your words.
Enunciate words properly. Speak loudly and actively—utter phrases in an upbeat and excited manner.
It can encourage your cockatiel to cooperate, and it mirrors with them your high energy.
The fact also that they are social birds, they would enjoy spending time with you. Thus, training with them gives them the chance to interact with you.
4. Reward System
Another way to reinforce your female cockatiel’s behavior is to give those treats or their favorite food when they start to learn words or sing.
It will strengthen their behavior, which will lead to quickly learning words or phrases.
You can also praise them for every word or phrase they got right. Be emphatic with your cockatiel and use positive words such as “Good,” “excellent,” etc.
5. Choose The Right Place
Another critical factor in learning is the place or venue where you will teach your feathered pet. It must be conducive.
Look for quiet rooms or place them on the T-stand. Make sure to keep them away from distractions.
Besides those mentioned above, keep in mind also watching your words when you are around with your female cockatiel. They may pick up some words that are not appropriate or intended to learn.
Be considerate also when teaching your feathered pet. Make them feel comfortable first before starting your session. And check if they are in a healthy condition to chat with you.
Do not expect that they will pronounce words correctly. Just make sure to repeat phrases again and again until they get it.
You can also record your session with your cockatiel so that you’ll just play it every time you train them. But it is still best to have an interaction daily.
Cockatiels egg laying process – read here.
Summary
It is true that cockatiels, both male and female, can either talk or sing. It’s so easy to tell until you have yours.
Although they are smart and can mimic your sound or words, many cockatiels, especially females, never learn to do it.
For male cockatiels, it is part of their anatomy to be more vocalized compared to females. It is also innate to them since it is part of their mating process. However, with patience and perseverance, female cockatiels can learn to be vocal too.
Though this fact can be limited to a few cockatiels only, some research suggests that females can also sing and talk.
Also, they can be a bit timid and reserved. These birds only respond to people they favor.
In general, female cockatiels are ideal for owners who can only tolerate a few noises or live in places that are not suitable to create loud noises.
Female cockatiels do not imitate sounds or talk a lot compared to male cockatiels. But rest assured that they can talk and sing. And they can be trained to do that.
Resources
Image credits – Canva
[1] Cockatiel Sounds Explained – Lafeber
[2] 5 Cockatiel Sounds And Vocalizations Explained – Chewy
[3] How to Distinguish a Male Cockatiel Bird From a Female – Pets on Mom
