Among the numerous selection of pets, parrots make the most sense. After all, what other animal can actually communicate with its owner using a human language?
If you actually decide to buy a parrot as a pet, it would make sense to choose a talking one – by far the best feature of this bird. Unfortunately, not all parrots talk. Many have the ability, but not all will speak.
If asked, “What is the cheapest talking parrot?” at a pet store, you’ll find that parakeets or budgies are your most budget-friendly option. Though a budgie is the cheapest, there are many other not-so-expensive types you can surely afford.
The bird’s price depends on its rarity, age, and health. In this article, I’ll offer the average prices on the market. They can also depend on the store and city you buy your parrot at. The most expensive come from private sellers that will tell you all the necessary information about the bird.
The Budgerigar
If you have a limited budget but still want a parrot that would talk to you, the budgie is your cheapest option. The budgie has a low voice which is sometimes harder to understand than that of other parrots. Despite that, you can teach them quite a few words. They are generally talkative birds.
They are also called parakeets on the market. You’ll face the choice of several types of this bird. All of them vary in price.
Note that males can be easily and more effectively trained to speak than females.
Price range: $15 to $100
Cockatiel
A cockatiel is very similar to budgies. They are cheap and come with limited speech abilities. This bird will not form sentences for you but a few short phrases like “You are beautiful.” What more do you need? Cockatiels are hard to teach, but they are sociable birds, and will gladly train with you.
Price range:$50 to $150
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The Australian King Parrot
This bird falls to the lower spectrum of price but comes with a disadvantage. You’ll have to be very patient to teach this King to talk. And be lucky that a bird has an urge to speak at all.
Price range: $100 to $500.
Parrotlet
Just like the name suggests, parrotlets are small birds; among the smallest captive parrots at that!
Can you imagine a bird less than 5 inches from tail to beak? That is parrotlet for you. Despite their tiny size, they are also capable of learning a few phrases here and there. With any parrot, your chances are higher with males. Parrotlet is not an exception, but don’t give up on females yet; they can be rather talkative as well.
Their prices depend on their coloring.
Price range: $150 to $600
Indian Ringneck
Compared to the cheaper birds, an Indian Ringneck will seem like a highly-intelligent talker to you. And they are, in fact, very clever.
A ringneck parrot can form long sentences and can learn quite an impressive vocabulary. But don’t expect to confuse their voices with humans. They have their distinctive bird voice and pitch.
Price range: $175 to $250 for the common colorings and types; $1,200 for rare specimens (female parrots of this kind cost around 25% less).
The African Ringneck Parakeet
This bird can learn words, but it’ll take you lots of effort. Be sure to buy a very young bird as they have to be taught to speak from an early age. Good news – they are not expensive.
Price range: around $200
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Monk Parakeet
Monk (or Quaker) Parakeets are colorful, clever, and lovable. They are the perfect bird for you if you want a middle-priced parrot. Their vocabulary can be large.
Price range: $450 to $700
The Blossom-Headed Parakeet
The first variation of parakeet I’m going to talk about is the Blossom-Headed Parakeet. They are exceptionally good at the human world but exceptionally rare. If you are lucky to have it as a pet, you can teach them lots.
Price average: $600 to $900
Macaw
Macaw is one of the most widely recognized parrots in the world. You’ll see them in all kinds of advertisements and movies. The bird is also impressive with its speech skills and the ability to mimic human voices. With proper training, their vocabulary can come up to a hundred words.
Price range: $700 to $1,000 for the common breeds; up to $15,000 for Blue and Gold
African Grey
An African Grey parrot is arguably the most famous talking bird people think of. It is quite an expensive one as well. But not the most expensive, though!
African Greys are so famous because of their high intelligence. This is actually the most intelligent talking parrot you can find. Just check the videos of trained birds to see what they can do.
With high intelligence comes an excellent vocabulary. Moreover, African Greys were proven to have the speech skills of a toddler!
The true tragedy is the levels of poaching that endanger the species. Thus, it’s quite troublesome to get the law pass to own the parrot.
Price range: $800 to $3,600
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Yellow-Crowned Amazon
This parrot is very similar to the Yellow-Naped one in its speech abilities. As a bonus, it’s a gentler bird that comes with fewer nip attacks. They are a bit unstable in their speech habits and will talk much and clearly at unexplained moments.
Price range: around $1,000
Yellow-Naped Amazon
Among all the Amazon parrots, Yellow-Naped has the most impressive speaking skills. In addition to imitating human language, these birds love to sing! Their voices have perfect mimicking abilities, to the degree that it’s easy to confuse who’s actually spoken. Overall, these are brilliant birds!
Price range: $1,200 to $2,500
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Cockatoo
You’ll love the melodic voice of a cockatoo if you manage to coax it to speak. They are stubborn and capricious. Patience, hard work, and good relationships with the bird will help you. Prices on cockatoos offer the most extensive range depending on the rarity.
Price range: $1,000 to $23,000; $2000 on average
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The Derbyan Parakeet
Compared to many of the rare Amazon parrots I’ll mention in the article, the Derbyan Parakeet has a better and more articulate speech. At the same time, its max vocabulary is lower. They are also known to form full sentences.
Price range: around $1,500
Blue-Fronted Amazon
This diverse bird can mimic human pitch and voice and has its own distinctive bird voice. Also, note that these birds can live up to a hundred years. Thus, it’s a long-term investment.
Price range: $1,500 to $2,500
Eclectus
These birds perfectly imitate the mood and tone of your language. Though the pronunciation may be a bit jumbled, they will sing-song the words for you! The golden rule with this bird is constant training. If you start teaching it from an early age and dedicate lots of time, You’ll get a decent result.
With these birds, it’s easy to distinguish male and female specimens by color. Male – green, female – red.
Price range: around $1,500; for a rare Ble Solomon Island – $20,000.
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Double Yellow Head Amazon
This is a true competitor to the Yellow-Naped Amazon in terms of speaking and its learning abilities. It can be exceptionally great if taught from a young age. And even when they are not talking, you’ll enjoy their melodic singing.
Price range: $1,500 to $3,000
Overall, many parrot species have the ability to learn human words and mimic voices. Some breeds are more skilled, others less. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a bird will speak, though such types as African Grey have more chances.
An important key to success is your dedication to it all. If you put in enough effort and form close relationships with your bird, you bring in a great deal of success and encouragement.
An important piece of advice is to buy a young bird. They learn better and are taught as early as possible. Interact with them constantly.
If you want better chances for success, opt for a male bird. Though females are capable of speech as well, the percentage of talking male birds is higher.
