Indeed, Red-Bellies do seem to be the best talkers of the Poicephalus genus, speaking not only clearly, but with understanding, and often in more than one voice. The owner of one Red-belly reports: "She calls people by name and talks in the voices of the people who are there. She calls for people only when they are home." A recent client reports that even his little 12 week old baby "Monolito" says "Arriba" (Spanish for "Up") when he steps up, or wants to be picked up. I’ve noticed that our little hand-feeding Red-Bellies often try to imitate human voices, even before they’re weaned!

      Red-Bellies seem to be more likely to speak in the presence of strangers than the other Poicephalus. They seem to actually enjoy showing off in front of company, "carrying on" sometimes to the point of jabbering.

      In all of this, these Parrots seem to posses a sweet and vulnerable quality that is difficult to describe. They are outgoing, yet somehow also a little coy, and pleasantly phlegmatic. The end result is a cute, sensitive, little attention seeker that is tough to resist!

      The Red-Bellied Parrot originally hails from the dry, hot Savannah country of far eastern Africa. They are the countrymen of the Cheetah, the Elephant, and the Thompson’s Gazelle. True Africans in every sense of the word, their exotic "jungle calls" actually consist of a series of melodic whistles, beeps and other curious and pleasant sounds. None of the Poicephalus are loud birds, however, making them all excellent choices for condominium dwellers and any others for whom sound levels are a significant consideration.