I can’t stop watching this bird speak perfect Japanese

If you’ve ever heard a parrot in real life, you know how annoying they can be. You’re expecting a fun, talking bird but instead it’s probably just making random noises. But this one can speak fluent Japanese.

Abe-chan is a myna bird living in Japan, which are known for perfectly imitating sounds after they’ve heard them a couple of times. Its owner decided to start the YouTube channel newSuperAbechan where you can follow along with the bird’s various tries to imitate a human being.

The video above is from a while back, and features the bird in a slightly weird conversation.

Bird: “Uhm Hello, this is the Ono family.”
Bird: “What’s wrong?”
Owner: “Abe-chan, you’re a little too early. Once the phone’s picked up, then properly say hello.”
Bird: “Okay, understood.”
Owner: “Do you really understand? I’m counting on you. Hello, this is the Ono family residence in Gifu.”
Bird: “Okay, I understand!”
Owner: “Got it.”

Even though Abe doesn’t understand what someone is saying — it’s just reciting sounds heard in the past — it’s still hilarious to hear it speak. An iPhone translation app can even correctly pick up on what it’s saying:

Unfortunately, Abe-chan passed away two years ago, leaving the channel empty for quite a bit. But recently the owner decided to get a new bird named Suga-chan, that she started to train by talking to it.

Obviously Suga is taking baby steps, but here’s hoping it’ll be just as talkative as Abe in the near future.