Some birds talk too much! Silence means security!
Security poster of a green parrot with a bow tied round its orange beak, and a speech cloud reading 'Some birds talk too much!'. Slogan across the foot: 'silence means security!!'. The pun ties parrot chatter to careless speech; the gagged bird stands in for the reader who is told to be quiet, with little direct threat shown.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1944
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- War Department, Adjutant General's Office; U.S. Government Printing Office
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Themes
- War and the military, Security and surveillance
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
War Department, Adjutant General's Office. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-151 (NAID 513597).
Text on the object
Some birds talk too much! silence means security!! [imprint:] W.D., A.G.O. "Parrot" Security Poster. Additional copies may be requisitioned as prescribed in AR 310-200, 1 May 1943, as changed by Changes No. 2, 15 September 1943. [imprint:] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1944-O-586551
