# Silent Bird ?



## VelvetPatty (Dec 11, 2013)

Hey, this is my first time with a cockatiel and I've seen a lot of videos where tiels talk and sing. I know they have singing capabilities but my bird Patty seems to be awfully quiet. He makes low noises but he likes to be petted and sits on my shoulder and he even eats from my hands. He is about a year old and when he was with his previous owner he had learned to say his name but the thing is he says it very rarely. I do spend time with him talking to him but I really want him to sing and be talkative  because seeing him silent bothers me I want him to be happy. So any tips /advice on this? ? :grey tiel:


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

My cockatiel is pretty quiet. She is a female and about five months old. I have read that males are more vocal. 

I know my budgies start to sing if there is music on, or even the TV. Perhaps you could try that. 

Each bird is different. It sounds like yours is nice and affectionate. Those are good qualities and not universal. If he doesn't want to sing, try to love him for himself.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

How long have you had him? They can be pretty quiet when they aren't yet totally comfortable around their new human companion.

My male used to just scream and scream and scream (trust me, silent would have been MUCH nicer), but now that he is a little more comfortable with us he'll whistle more, and sometimes he'll even imitate our cat's meow. He did go silent when he was going through a molt recently though.

Sometimes we play YouTube videos of whistling/singing tiels for him, and while he hasn't picked anything up (we frankly don't think he's the smartest bird out there...) he clearly listens and responds to them.


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