A single parrot cannot forage for fruit and watch for predators at the same time; it depends on its chittering flock for protection. Therefore, to teach a bird that can talk — parrots, parakeets or mynas, for example — to talk, find one that for lack of better options thinks of you as its flock. “Don’t get an old, disappointed bird,” says Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji, a 72-year-old guru who, when not traveling the world playing synthesizer concerts for his followers, can be found at his bird sanctuary in Mysore, India, home to more than a thousand birds, including some 40 trained talkers. “Buy a baby bird.” Specifically, opt for one bred in captivity (or rescued) rather than one snatched from the wild.

Swamiji advises spending as much time as possible the first several months talking to your bird in gentle tones, reassuring it as you would a young child. “Don’t hurry them to talk,” he says. “They need to feel security in the heart first.” Once the bird has confidence in you as a companion and reliable food source, start repeating simple phrases. “First you say, ‘You are very good,’ ‘How are you my dear?’ ‘I love you,’ ” Swamiji says. Many trainers reward learning with nuts or seeds; Swamiji and his staff provide three daily meals instead, though they occasionally treat the birds to a sip of milky chai tea.