GCC talking ability?

[Mothi]

How well do GCC speak/talk? Clarity, volume..? Age start talking?

Yazhi seems to say something. For a while I couldn't get what, but I think I figured it out.

First off, Yazhi knows how to laugh. It is a wicked laugh though. Mostly done when he jumps into his night cage. Sometimes done at other times, but the jumping into night cage then chuckling is the norm.

I would say for the past couple of days, he has been muttering something. It is not done in the normal way he vocalizes where he either peeps or squaks. This word is done low key somewhat grovely voice. It was 2 sylabols (spelling?). From days of hearing this muttering, I think I know what it means and why. He is trying to say "up, up". He wants to get up...lol He often says then when I am close to his cage, he is out but on the floor, or has just been asked to up up and is on my finger. It took me a while to connect the dots. Keep in mind is just about 9 weeks old now. I didn't think they could learn until later.

Will he get clearer? Anyone else's GCC say a word? How does it sound and what word is it?

EDIT: Also, Yazhi makes peep sounds when in his cage. It kind of seems like chatter, but it is the same peep sound done every so many seconds for a long while. He sometimes is scampering around his cage trying to get out when he does this, but then also he may just be on his favorite perch peeping. Sometimes he will be eating and peep occasionally. What is this sound for? Is it chatter that in the wild would be done to confuse predators to their exact location when a whole flock does this?

[denmor55]

GCC talking ability much depends on your imagination Green cheeks may try to imitate some sounds but talking is not what they are known for.

[jessica313]

shadow is beginning to talk but its not too clear... now i THINK he is about 10 months old and hes just starting....(petco didnt have a DOH but they said they were pretty sure it was january)
i read online somewhere that they usually start talking around 8 months, however i dont know if this is entirely true.
as far as his talking goes.. its not very clear but i can understand him.. its more like him mimicing the sounds and sylables but you can definantly tell that hes trying. (its really cute) its usually not too loud either.. but shadow's a quiet bird most of the time. he can laugh too but its more of a cute little chuckle...

i know exaclty the chatter and peeps you are talking about. however i havnt really figured out what it means. he seems to chatter the most before bedtime when hes trying to fall asleep. i think this is an instinct from the wild..(i seem to remember reading that somewhere)

hope this helps a little bit, although i also had a few of the same questions;
hopefully someone on here can help us!

-jessica

[Mothi]

I remember being told once (I think it was in relationship to bugies) that at noon perching in trees for a little rest, they chatter non stop while snoozing. This whole flock of chattering birds was supposed to throw off predators from pin pointing a specific bird. I don't know if that is correct or not, so is why I asked why he does this chattering. Honestly thinking back, it might be mid day type of thing he is doing... hm..

Didn't think GCC were known for talking. I think it was cute he tried. I love his laughing though. I just laugh back at him when he does it or give him attention.

[Alyce Johnson]

My eldest one can talk, but we didn't teach her - she must have learned it from her original owner.
The 2 we bought as babies think they're birds, not humans, so they chatter all the time, but not in English.

Emerald, the older one (11-12 yrs old or so) is bonded to people though. So she talks to her "daughters" at night, when they're all in the sleepy tent, and the younger ones are fussing & won't settle down. She tells them to "step up" over & over! To her, I think it basically means "behave". It sounds like a little birdie voice. Not human sounding, but totally comprehensible & clear.

She can also say "Be Quiet!" - and it's very clear too! Almost gave me a heart attack one night because she kind of hissed it, and it sounded so human (like human whispering speech) that I thought for a moment there was an intruder in our bedroom! But it was just our tiny Mama GCC telling the romping cats to shut up!

She doesn't talk to us, though. She only does it when she wants to communicate about something of her own volition. What's amazing is that she clearly knows what the words mean and is using them correctly. Like I say, to her, "step up" clearly means "behave". But that's understandable when you consider that she normally only gets "stepped up" when she's been naughty (flown somewhere or bit someone for ex). So she's using language with obvious intent and in proper context. She's a pretty smart little birdie!

[Quito's Qage]

Quito does a squeaky breathy version of her name, comes out more like "hee-ho". Other than that, she chatters and clucks happily a lot.

[Zoe's Mom]

Just this morning I was not paying enough attention to Zoe. She was on her cage trying to play peek a boo with me but I was distracted by some housework. She continued to say peek a boo peek a boo peek a boo over and over and over...( I think you get the point...lol ) and the next thing I know she says, plain as day, I SAID PEEK A BOO! She must have picked that up from my husband who is always saying I SAID EASY when he picks her up first thing in the morning because she is so excited she tries to give kisses but they are too rough. I hit the floor laughing. Of course she got just what she wanted and we played peek a boo until she no longer wanted to play. Zoe is a very good talker. When I bring her to get her nails cut or wings trimmed they can not believe how well she talks for a CGGC. I truly believe that its all in the amount of time you spend teaching them. I can even get her to whisper I love you. Its like I always say...anything is possible.

[stepht25]

Zoe's mom - that is hysterical!! Great story! I know Zoey's breeder told me they have raised some that could say quite a few words. There's a yahoo list for green cheek conures that I lurk on and I have read several posts from different people that say their gcc's talk pretty well. Zoey doesn't really make any noise as of yet. She and Cosmo have kind of called back and forth to one another the last week or so - but other than that I don't really hear her making any other birdie noises. (unless she's mad at you then she jabs you with her beak and tells you off in birdie language! LOL)

[Valo's Moirana]

Valo's about 5mo now, and he starts babbling. But it's more like the general scheme that was described previously - he doesn't get words together, it's more like muttering. He repeats things, but it's more an imitation of the syllabus number and sounds... we'll see where this goes. Currently, he just sits on his playpen and babbles (non-stop) when we have dinner and I talk to him - it's hilarious.
Zoe's mom - great story, loved it.... I still haven't decided yet, if I want Valo to talk b/c a) I talk enough for me and the birdie b) with Valo's attitude and ego, I'm not sure it'd be a good idea