Despite being a small bird, the nymph is capable of emitting a multitude of sounds and some of them can reach a fairly high and even annoying timbre. The nymph is able to manifest her mood through sounds. That is why it is interesting to recognize them, although we know how difficult this is on paper.

The nymph is a bird designed to be noisy, due to its way of life in its native Australia. Both when it is irritated/stressed and when it is very happy, it can emit a very high-pitched scream. To maintain contact with their peers, they also scream because they are sociable animals that want to mark their position with respect to their peers at all times.

The cries can be especially loud in the mornings, first thing in the morning. This is something that occurs not only in nymphs, but in all species of psittacines. The morning is the time to organize the group to go in search of food, therefore the nymphs have to shout to communicate with each other. In captivity the same thing happens, but substituting the group of nymphs for their human flock (or by default, for the small captive colony).

What kind of noises does a nymph make?

Anxiety calls:

This is common in nymphs that live alone and are very dependent on their owners. They cannot bear the idea of ​​being alone and therefore they emit a series of sounds classified as cries of anxiety. These are very high-pitched cries that coincide with the departure or absence of the owner and end when the owner returns to be present at home and aware of the animal. We must never go to these cries, since we would be reinforcing them. That is why the early socialization of the nymphs with the environment and avoiding excessive imprinting are essential to avoid anxiety in the short and long term.

Sometimes they may just make “contact” calls that are also high pitched and this can be mistaken for anxiety.

The gurgles of happiness

It is a series of notes that are emitted by both the male and the female of different pitches, which can sometimes be high. These sounds are usually made when they receive food, when they are caressed or when we get home after being a long time without seeing them.

The screeches of irritation

Nymphs sometimes “fight” inanimate objects or their owner (fingers, hair, etc.), usually when bored or irritated by something. They are soft sounds, like a high-pitched growl that they emit while performing this action. Avoid this behavior in nymphs, especially when they are caressed or treated.

Courtship whistles

This sound is normally only emitted by the male, although some females also do it. It is a series of notes, intoning melodies and that are usually accompanied by various body postures to carry out the courtship. It is usually a soft melody, but it can get louder at times.

Contact calls

These are very high-pitched cries made by the nymphs to communicate with each other. They normally do it in response to similar sounds (alarms, screams, etc.) and they can also do it in situations of fear or stress to alert their companions. This is a very high pitched and very annoying scream.

Here is a video explaining the types of nymph screams, and their meaning.

How can we control or limit the cries in the nymphs?

This is perhaps what most interests many owners. First of all, it must be understood that neither the nymph nor any other parrot are mute animals, so a certain level of sound must be tolerated. But there are some cries that can be corrected, redirected or reduced.

Don’t let your nymph get bored

Always keep her entertained with toys, environmental enrichment, etc. especially when she’s alone or when you can’t keep an eye on her. Boredom is a frequent cause of screaming in nymphs.

If the nymph spends many hours alone, she may need a companion of her species to keep her entertained. But keep in mind that two nymphs scream twice as much as one.

Offer toys and interesting objects for her

Stuffed toys are very interesting and can keep them entertained for a long time. You have to think that an entertaining nymph, a nymph playing, a nymph with a full beak, is in most cases, a quiet nymph. There are many tricks for this, for example stuffing a ball of hay or offering a cut cardboard tube filled with food.

Take time and exercise

Take your nymph out for exercise, make her fly, make her get tired. A nymph exercised, then wants to rest in the cage and is not up for many jogs, which is a nymph that will rarely scream. Besides, she will be a mentally healthier nymph and it will be more difficult for her to be obese.

Don’t reinforce negative behaviors

You should never go when a nymph screams at you, since for her it is like a prize and she will continue to do so. You should not go to punish her either, you should simply ignore them so that she understands that yelling is not going to achieve anything.

Buy responsibly

Acquire a well socialized nymph, mentally healthy and not imprinted with people. In short, it acquires a nymph raised by its parents and socialized later or separated from them at 25 days and raised with its siblings until it is completely independent, without being excessively stimulated. Poor parenting is one of the reasons why many nymphs become overly dependent on their owners and scream for attention.

We can approach stealthily and cover the cage, but you should not associate our presence with the screams in any case.

In spite of everything, a certain level of screaming must be tolerated, since we are acquiring a noisy animal by nature. And what we cannot do is change the nature of a living being at will.