talking birds

[gingerflaps]

im thinking of getting a bird with the possible ability to talk, but have no idea where to start or how much i'm required to spend. does anyone know what are the cheapest and what are the most expensive, and what kinds of parrots can talk? any information about any talking bird is great, thanx

[pug100]

Hi,
It's not just parrots that can mimic speech, my first thought was a bugie or myna bird.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_birds

If you want a parrot the African Grey is the best talker but do your research first. Try here, price of bird around �500 to �1000, suitable cage �150.

http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/parrotsforpe ts.shtml

I think that the budgie will be your cheapest option as it's smaller and won't need such a large cage or as much food.

[garner]

One of our relatives has a Mynah Bird......Fabulous mimic of voices, you would think it was a human talking one drawback they are very dirty ie..in their cages with droppings, just thought I would give you the down side.

[Noweia]

Starlings can imitate human speech too, search YouTube for 'talking starling'. Don't know where you could get one though...

[slinkycat]

How about a cockatiel? I think the male ones are the best mimics, we have one, but unfortunately we haven't spent as much time "educating" him as we'd hoped for. It does take a huge amount of time and dedication. Cockatiels are willing listeners, and with patience enjoy human interaction. Our Robbie is always pleased to see us in the morning and despite our poor teaching skills he says "hello Robbie" does great telephone and dog impressions, and a mean rendition of "Bridge over the River Kwai" !
Cockatiels are relatively inexpensive compared to parrots, and I believe they live to about 25years
Hope that helps!

[gingerflaps]

thanx for all your answers.
my name is a 'clean' virsion of my nicname.