Can Crows Talk Like Parrots? [Can They Mimic Words?]

Crows are part of the corvid family and are highly intelligent birds. They spend a lot of their time in large family groups and are actually quite social birds. Have you ever wondered whether crows can talk like parrots?

Crows can be taught to talk just like a parrot. In fact, it may be easier to teach a crow a quite extensive vocabulary. The reason that this is not common knowledge is because crows and other corvids such as ravens and magpies are not often kept as pets.

However, crows are excellent mimickers and with time, patience and repetition, they can be taught an amazing array of words and even complete sentences. Bear in mind though, that crows are like cats and will only respond on their own terms. So, they’ll only repeat what you say, if they want to and when they want to.

How Do Crows Talk?

Unlike parrots, crows cannot use their tongue to talk. Instead, they use their syrinx. The syrinx is a bird’s vocal organ and is located at the base of the bird’s trachea. In other words, it’s the bird’s voice box.

This syrinx is made of ossified cartilages, muscles and vibrating membranes. Birds have this organ in place of vocal cords which they don’t have. In fact, they have not just one but two syrinxes. This enables some birds to make more than one sound at a time.

Using their syrinx, crows are just repeating the exact sounds that they hear. In fact, you will find that they repeat the sounds even using the same tone of voice and the same accent as the person who taught them the word.

In addition to that, crows also have excellent memories. This means that they can learn and remember many words a lot faster than any other bird species.

Do Crows Know What They’re Saying?

In most instances, crows are simply mimicking the words that you’re saying. They don’t really understand what the words mean. They’re just repeating the common sounds that you make repeatedly.

However, being the intelligent bird that they are, they can be taught to understand what certain words mean. This takes a lot of time and patience to teach and the crow must trust you implicitly before it will actually learn from you.

But, if you take the time, you can teach a crow to ask for specific types of food, to recognize different colors and even to count.

What’s The Most Common Word That Crows Will Say?

Crows that are kept in zoos or wildlife parks will often learn to say “hello”. This is because they’ve listened to the many different visitors say hello to them. This constant repetition of the word encourages the crows to learn it and then repeat it.

Therefore, if you were to visit a zoo or wildlife park and you say hello to one of the crows, it’s quite likely that the crow will say hello back. This is because it’s learned the word and can now repeat it back to you.

Can All Crows Be Taught To Speak?

Not necessarily. Just like other birds and animals, each crow will have its own temperament and some may be too timid or shy and won’t want to talk.

This is likely to be the case with crows that are not often around humans. These birds may spend a lot of their lives in rural areas and so, they’re not exposed to constant human chatter. Consequently, these birds are unlikely to mimic common words that people say.

On the other hand, crows that spend most of their lives in suburban areas where there are a lot of people, may be able to say certain words even without being taught. This is because they’ve heard these words very often and so they’re tempted to repeat them.

And, it’s not just words. Crows can also mimic other sounds like a car horn blaring, a telephone ringing or even a cat meowing.

Why Are Crows So Intelligent?

Essentially, crows have around 1.5 billion neurons in their brains. This is the same amount as found in some monkey brains. However, a crow’s head is quite small and, therefore, the neurons are tightly packed. This means that the communication between the neurons is much better, making crows really intelligent. In fact, their intelligence is rated similar to that of gorillas.

How Do You Teach A Crow To Talk?

If you’re lucky enough to have raised a crow from a young chick, you should find it fairly easy to teach the bird to talk. This is because the crow has already built up trust in you and sees you as part of the flock.

Interestingly, it’s also possible to teach a crow that visits your backyard every day to talk.

Bear in mind though, that crows are essentially wild birds and are protected by federal laws. Therefore, you need to have a federal permit to keep a pet crow.

Here are some tips on things you can do to teach a crow to talk:

• Start with simple words. Simple words such as “hello”, “hi” or even “good morning” are great to start with. Continue to say these words repeatedly and you might be surprised at how quickly the crow starts to mimic the words back to you. Repetition of these words is really important because it allows the crow to learn them over time.
• Be enthusiastic. If you say the words enthusiastically, the crow will understand that you’re excited about the word. This also enthuses the bird to want to repeat the word back to you.
• Use rewards. Just like in dog training, if you reward the crow with small morsels of food when it says the word correctly, it will learn much faster. It’s also important to praise the bird when it gets things right.
• It’s easier to train a young bird. Studies have shown that younger birds learn much faster than adult ones and they are more eager to learn. So, if at all possible, choose a young crow to teach it to talk.
• Firstly, build trust. Crows are quite suspicious creatures and it takes a little time to earn their trust. Before you even start teaching your crow to talk, you need to ensure that it trusts you. Therefore, spend time with the bird and create a bond. In fact, daily exposure to your bird is really important as it helps to build trust with it. Once you do that, you’ll be surprised how quickly it will learn to talk.
• Establish a routine. If you have your training sessions at the same time every day, the bird will get into a routine and may even get excited at the prospect of receiving some treats when it says a few words. You’ll also find that once your crow learns a few basic words, it becomes much easier for the bird to learn additional words, phrases and even complete sentences.

Are There Other Species Of Birds That Can Talk Like Parrots?

Most other corvids can talk just as well as crows can. This includes ravens, blue jays, magpies, choughs, rooks, jackdaws and red-winged blackbirds. All of these birds have the ability to mimic different sounds that they hear including human words.

DON’T MISS: Learn the difference between Raven’s & Crow’s here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do crows mimic human speech?

Yes, crows do have the capacity to mimic human speech, especially those that are kept in captivity.

Can a raven talk like a parrot?

Absolutely. A raven can be taught to speak like a parrot or even better.

Are crows as smart as parrots?

Crows are perhaps one of the smartest birds on the planet.

Do crows mimic other birds?

Yes, crows can and will mimic the calls of other birds as well as other common sounds and even humans.

Are crows smarter than ravens?

Both of these birds are highly intelligent. However, it appears that ravens are slightly more intelligent than crows.

Final Thoughts

Although you may not have known it previously, crows can talk just as well as parrots. They have the same ability to mimic the sounds that they hear often and can be taught to repeat words, phrases and even complete sentences.

The reason not many people know that crows can actually be taught to talk is because these birds don’t usually have regular interactions with humans. They are essentially wild birds and people require a permit to keep them as pets.

However, places like zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers that have raised crows from young chicks have been quite successful in teaching them to talk. It can take a little patience at first as the crow first has to become used to human contact before it will learn to trust and thus, be encouraged to learn to talk.

Interestingly, most other corvids like ravens and magpies can also be taught to mimic human words and the result is quite fascinating.