13 Budgie Sounds And What They Mean

Budgies like to talk and make different noises, especially first thing in the morning when awakening. They make a wide range of sounds, and each call has a different meaning.

You can better understand and communicate with a budgie by understanding its vocalizations.

Happy budgie noises are bright and sweet, like trills, songs, warbling, talking, beak grinding, whistling, muttering, and mimicking sounds.

However, unhappy budgie noises are louder, shriller, and in extreme cases, repetitive. These include screaming, hissing, chiding, contact calls, and squawking.

Some people think budgies are too noisy, but a loud and talkative budgie is happy. If your budgie is constantly making small noises, the chances are that it’s feeling contented.

What Do Budgie Noises Mean?

While it may sound like random chatter, budgies make different vocalizations to communicate with each other, express their emotions, and warn flock members of danger.

Budgies are naturally chatty birds, so you should expect a budgie to constantly make different sounds. Silence or a sudden reduction in noise usually means your budgie is scared, upset, or sick.

These are happy budgie noises with meanings:

These are unhappy budgie sounds with meanings:

Sounds Budgies Make And What They Mean:

Here’s the meaning of different budgie vocalizations:

1/ Chattering

Healthy and contented budgies will usually make soft chatter. This constant chattering may alarm new owners, but it’s normal behavior.

Budgies chatter to other budgies, humans, and themselves. A happy budgie will chatter on a perch with feathers slightly puffed up.

2/ Whistling

Whistles are a common sound that budgies make. Most budgies learn to whistle independently, while others need to be taught. When they know how to do it, they’ll whistle when in good spirits.

You’ll often find budgies whistling when they hear fun and interesting tunes. Likewise, budgies often whistle to entertain themselves or fill time when bored.  

If you find your budgie whistling, try whistling along. Budgies love nothing more than their owners joining them in a song they enjoy.

3/ Beak Grinding

Beak grinding is a noise budgies make when they rub their beaks together.

Despite the rough sound, it’s a positive noise from budgies. A budgie that grinds its beak is relaxed, contented, and happy.

You’re likely to hear beak grinding before a budgie goes to sleep. It’s a self-soothing behavior used to wind down for the night. A happy budgie may grind its beak to fall asleep.

Unfortunately, beak grinding can be a grating noise to hear. If this sound bothers you, consider draping a cover over your budgie’s cage an hour before bedtime.

4/ Trilling

A trill is a chirp that’s long and drawn out. Sometimes, you’ll hear a few notes in the middle. If a trill were any longer, it would be considered a song.

Trills are an upbeat version of chattering that shows happiness. You’ll often hear trills when a budgie is excited about playing, listening to music, or eating.

5/ Singing

Songs are complex, with different pitches, notes, and tones. Singing is easy to distinguish from other sounds, as it goes on for longer and is more complicated.

You’ll often hear budgies singing if they hear something they enjoy, such as a singing budgie, music from a radio, or your talking voice.

6/ Warbling

Warbles are a type of song. They’re like singing, but with different sounds mixed in. These sounds can range from off-key notes to sounds that mimic noises and humans.

Warbles are most often heard from males wooing a female. According to Animal Behavior, warbles can stimulate egg production in female budgies.

Other than wooing a mate, warbles are used to socialize with other budgies. Unlike most songs, warbling isn’t loud. However, warbling is a sign of happiness and contentment. 

7/ Muttering

Muttering is composed of soft, monosyllabic, and repeated noises. It sounds much like a warble but softer and less obvious.

Muttering often happens when a budgie is relaxed or particularly sleepy. Think of it as a sleepy toddler who wants to stay up to keep talking but is too exhausted.

Muttering isn’t a sign of joy like singing, but it means that your budgie is relaxed, contented, and happy. If left undisturbed, you’ll soon have a sleeping budgie.

8/ Talking

Budgies can mimic the sounds they hear, including their owners’ voices. According to the International Journal of Comparative Psychology, budgies consider human speech to be ‘modified budgerigar noises.’ 

Talking is a positive noise from budgies because it means that a budgie’s doing well. Your budgie is contented enough to learn about the world and pay attention to what you say.

Not all budgies talk, and some will talk more than others. Certain budgies are just more shy and quiet and won’t ever learn. Also, male budgies talk more than female budgies.

If your budgie doesn’t talk, this doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it.

9/ Mimickery

Budgies may mimic the sound or beep of a coffee machine, microwave oven, doorbell, or cough. Mimickery signals that your budgie is feeling upbeat.

Many parrots prefer to mimick different sounds than talk, especially if they aren’t trained early on.

10/ Contact Calls

A budgie’s flock can be spread out, making it hard to find each other. That’s why budgies have evolved to form contact calls, which are used to figure out the location of their friends. 

Even when a budgie doesn’t live in the wild anymore, it maintains these instincts. A captive budgie will make contact calls for other budgies in its flock, a sound that usually resembles a sharp ‘eep!’

If you find your budgie making a sound every time you leave the room, it’s likely a contact call. This call can be frequent and shrill, but it shows interest in your welfare.

Contact calls are natural and aren’t a cause for concern. However, if they occur often, consider whether your budgie is lonely. If it’s the only budgie in its cage, get it a friend or spend more time together.

11/ Chiding

Chiding is a warning sound, telling other budgies to stay away or back off.

It’s a budgie’s primary way of deescalating a situation so it doesn’t turn into a fight. It’s also a budgie’s way of establishing boundaries and personal space.

If you have several budgies, you might hear this noise. It comes in the form of a sharp ‘tsk!’ This often results in the other budgie backing away, but it can escalate. If you hear this sound from your budgie, monitor the situation closely because you may need to separate two birds.

This noise can be directed at their owners. Budgies use this noise to let you know they’re being handled incorrectly or want to be left alone for a while.

12/ Squawking

Short squawks are shrill, harsh, sudden, and loud.

They’ll catch your attention, as they’re a budgie’s main way of demanding something, usually food.

Squawks can happen if a budgie is surprised by something. Maybe it heard a loud noise, or something was toppled over. At worst, your budgie may fear that it’s in danger.

13/ Screaming

Screams are loud, harsh noises that are easily distinguishable from happy chirps.

Sometimes, screams don’t mean anything, and it’s just your budgie being noisy. Usually, screaming is a way for budgies to let you know they feel uncomfortable or afraid.

It’s usually easy to identify the reason for screaming. Sometimes, it can be because your budgie’s in pain or scared. This could be because it has trapped its leg or is fighting with another budgie.

However, it may appear that your budgie is screaming for no reason. If the screams are short and happen occasionally, it’s not a problem.

If your budgie constantly screams for long periods and its body language is distressed, check for signs of sickness, such as the following:

• Rapidly flapping wings
• Rapid breathing
• Shallow breathing
• Arched back

Budgie noises have different meanings, from happiness to anger to stress. So, pay close attention to how your budgie expresses itself to create an optimal living environment.