Why does my budgie scream / chirp / squawk?

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Budgie Screaming

When a budgie is excited or is trying to communicate it will usually chirp. Budgies are noisy animals by nature and many will emit loud contact calls throughout the day. Many people find these calls to be irritating while others enjoy them. Though these calls can be quite loud, they are nothing compared to their larger cousins the Conures or the Amazons. Nevertheless, this is typical budgie behavior.

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Most male budgies will chirp and sing throughout the day. This constant chirping almost sounds like chattering and is used to impress the female. The more vocal the male tends to be the more impressed the female budgie becomes. For this reason, many males will develop extensive vocabularies and be much louder and vocal whenever a female budgie is near. This attention-getting behavior is probably why many male budgies develop larger vocabularies and talk better than female budgies.

If several budgies are kept together, they will create an endless chorus of chirps and squawks. Loud music or loud television will trigger the birds to compete to be heard thus contributing even more to their chatter. In the wild, a loud budgie is an effective communicator as it needs its flock members to hear him—especially when the bird is in the air and there are no flat surfaces whereby the sound can bounce.

When a tamed budgie becomes excessively loud, the owner should never react to the budgies constant chirping. Instead, the owner should ignore the screaming completely. No eye contact should be given, no verbal reprimand, or any type of punishment is needed. Budgies do not understand this type of punishment. If the budgie learns that excessive screaming will not get their owner’s attention, it will eventually minimize this behavior. Once the bird has quieted down, the owner can immediately go to the budgie and praise and reward it with treats. Many owners that have talking budgies will encourage them to talk rather than scream—this seems to be more enlightening and ear pleasing for the owner.

Remember, it is important to note that budgies should be allowed to vocalize early in the morning, noon time, and before bedtime. In a natural and wild environment, these contact times are very much part of this bird’s world and allows them to socialize by flocking together to eat, roost, or to take baths. This socializing behavior is necessary for the pet budgie to be healthy.