She repeated that particular sentence to me, again and again, so that I would correct her. Some birds, such as African Greys, start talking later in life, by about their first year, others mumble a lot before finally speaking that first word clearly. Remember, too, your bird may initially prefer some words over others. He'll also produce a smoker's cough, but only for men, Rita loved to say her name over and over. One old theory stated that you should never start whistling at parrots, because they find whistling easier than talking.
African Greys seem to have an innate ability to wolf whistle.
Yet, if they are taught well, can out-talk many parrots. I now have to dial my cordless phone away from my two Lories, because they'll whistle the beeps my phone makes as I dial. Some of our words may also seem unclear to a bird. If you want a birds to speak clearly, so should you. Many of our consonants are hard for a parrot to say.