Can Scarlet Macaws Talk?

Scarlet macaws are known for their beautiful colors and amazing wingspan. But many people wonder, since they are parrots, can scarlet macaws talk?

Yes. Scarlet macaws can talk. They can learn to mimic words and sounds and they can also learn scenarios and stories.

They cannot mimic human voices perfectly as some other birds can do, for example, the African Grey parrot. And, scarlet macaws can only mimic the sounds and words that are familiar to them or have been taught by their owners.

It is for this reason that scarlet macaws make such great pets for the right people.

How To Get A Scarlet Macaw To Talk?

Scarlet macaws are very intelligent birds but they require a lot of sociable interaction from their owners and can be very noisy.

Teaching a scarlet macaw how to talk will not be a quick and easy process as it requires consistency, persistency, and patience more than anything.

The training should start when the macaw is still a baby bird because it is easier at that point of its life to teach them new things or behaviors.

It can be a tedious process that will require the owner to spend time every single day with their macaw and encouraging it as they learn new words. But once mastered, the scarlet macaws can become really fun and entertaining pets as they can talk!

Will My Scarlet Macaw Understand What It Is Saying?

Your bird will not understand what it is saying, but can mimic the words and sounds that are familiar to him or her and will remember the word association.

For example, if you teach your scarlet macaw how to say “I love you” then your bird will not understand any of those words, they do not have a concept for them yet. But when he/she sees other people, they can say those words to tease or attract attention.

They can also mimic other types of sounds as long as you teach them how, for example a doorbell sound can be used when training your bird not to talk loudly inside the house and create chaos around it!

Macaws And Word Association

Word association is probably the most impressive part of training a scarlet macaw to talk. Done right, it will also speed up the talking process.

For example, if you open the curtain each morning and say “Rise and shine, sleepy bird!”, and do this consistently every day, your bird will soon begin to associate those words with the action of opening the curtain and being awake in the morning.

Your bird will not necessarily know that it is morning, however, and you would notice, when your bird begins to say the phrase, it would also say it if you did the same gesture at 8pm at night!

In any case, it is a very impressive trick and word association can be a very helpful tool in teaching your macaw to talk.

It can take a month or two, with. consistency, before your bird starts to say “Rise and shine” first thing in the morning as soon as you open the curtains!

How To Teach Your Scarlet Macaw How To Talk Using Treats

The same can be achieved with a toy or a treat, as long as you consistently give a treat each time your bird makes progress.

You will need to start with shorter and easier one or two-syllable words, for example, “hello” can be the first one. And is usually the go-to phrase people use when talking to pets and babies alike!

Once your bird can say that word then you can start working on more difficult words or phrases by incorporating them into the training process.

For example, if your scarlet macaw learns how to say hello and wants a treat whenever he/she sees someone new in their life, then you can use that word to get your bird used to saying new words.

You can do this by teaching it how to say “What’s Up” and giving a treat every time he/she can say the full phrase! Your scarlet macaw will soon learn how to speak funny phrases quickly and more than one at once if you can be patient enough!

You can try giving it some of these. Your bird will absolutely LOVE you for it, and a bird that is well bonded with its owner learns a lot faster.

Do Scarlet Macaws Learn To Talk Quickly?

Training your scarlet macaws to talk will require patience, consistency, and time. It is best not to measure the time but rather the process. If you focus on the time aspect, you may become disheartened that your bird is not making progress and lose focus.

Document the small steps instead and you can see your bird’s progress and that is more rewarding than just focusing on the time.

The bigger picture here is to teach your scarlet macaw how to say new words and phrases until it can speak fluently.

How Many Words Can A Scarlet Macaw Learn?

A scarlet macaw can learn up to 1000 words if not more!

It can take a while, but the amount of words your scarlet macaw can learn is incredible.