The ABC’s of budgie noises

The other day, during a phone call, a friend commented that he liked hearing the puddings & toyboys in the background.  His comment reminded me of my concern when picking up the puddings for the first time, that they would be “quiet” birds.  Of course all birds have their own personalities & some are quieter than others, but  I did want birds on the noisier side.  When on the phone, I am frequently reminded of that initial (unfounded) concern when the person on the other end cannot hear me over all the chatter!

Of course the puddings developed into articulate & confident birds who are never afraid of voicing their feelings.  Possibly because they are hens, they are more into shouting, ACKing & squiggling than melodious “singing”.  Interestingly, since the toyboys have been on the scene, they have been far quieter & tweet in a more ladylike manner!

The toyboys sound altogether different from the puddings.  They have more of a constant chatter going on…. like little children always asking questions.  They seem to want to chatter for the sake of it & content perhaps is not as important to them as to the puddings.

The range of sounds that budgies can make is amazing.  Below, I have listed some of the main sounds that can be heard in this household.  You will obviously need the sound on for the videos…. unless you are listening to the ACK ones, in which case I suggest you turn the sound off…

A is for ACKing

ACKing is the girls’ speciality.  It is usually for a very good reason.  The reason may not be apparent to the listener but nevertheless, it is a very good reason.  The ACK can sometimes sound like a QUACK.

Click here for Atilla’s ACKing

Click here for more of Atilla’s ACKing

Click here for even more of Atilla’s ACKing

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B is for Babbling

The toyboys are good at babbling.  I define babbling as that sound made that never requires a pause for breath.

Click here for Cagney’s babbling

Click here for Bezukhov’s babbling

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C is for Clucking

The toyboys cluck quite a lot.  The clucking tends to be pre-regurgitating seed time & generally when they are flirting.

Click here for Cagney’s clucking (towards end of video)

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C is also for Chunnering

The toyboys like to chunner.  They like chunnering.  They like to chunner.  If you don’t like chunnering, tough luck!

Click here for Bezukhov’s sleepy chunnering

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S is for Squiggling

This is another sound that the puddings use rather than the toyboys.  There is a lot of vibrato to it that you can really feel if they squiggle when sat on your finger.  I find the Squiggle can mean many things: “That’s mine… move away slowly & you won’t get hurt“, “Git outta ma face“, “You talkin’ to me?”

Click here for Atilla’s squiggling (starts with ACKing but moves into squiggling)

Click here for Raspy’s squiggling (towards end of video)

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S is also for Shouting

All four are excellent at shouting.  Raspy often shouts when I leave the room.

Click here for Raspy shouting

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S is also for Squeaking

The girls tend to squeak when being fed by their boyfriends.  Raspy will accompany this with a flap of her wings, just in case the squeaking is not enough of a hint to Bezukhov that she wants more regurgitated seed.  Sadly I have yet to get a decent video of this.

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There are many other noises outside of the main ABCs that I have not documented. The puddings often use the Rallying Cry when they launch themselves off for a fly.  It can possibly be likened to a more aggressive version of the old person’s grunt when they sit down or get up.  There is also the Motoring sound made when flying that suggests that if the sound were to be turned off then flying would also stop.