Though tons of birds can learn to talk to some degree, it takes some time and practice. They need to repeatedly be exposed to speech to be able to replicate it, and some may never learn to at all.

They swoop down like winged hang gliders, cloaked in velvety green and red, squawking imperiously to announce their arrival in Mark Bittner's cherry tree. Like the perfect concierge, Bittner isn't ...