Birds often come with a lot of screeching and squawking, and if you prefer the quieter life, you might be wondering what species makes for the quietest pet birds. So, are birds quiet? It depends ...

Many people think of gulls ("seagull" is not a technical term) as nothing more than obnoxiously screeching birds, swooping for food while leaving white fecal messes behind.

Specialized adaptations allow screech owls to efficiently track down and dispatch prey. Supersized ears — not those tufts, which are only for camouflage — detect the faintest sounds.

Western scrub jays are not particularly friendly birds, but when they spot a fallen comrade, they hold screeching "funerals" for as long as a half-hour, a new study shows.

Birds often come with a lot of screeching and squawking, and if you prefer the quieter life, you might be wondering what species makes for the quietest pet birds. So, are birds quiet? It depends ...