Things I learned about bird intelligence at a panel earlier today. I mean yesterday.

[xiphias]

Well, by the definition, "'today' increments when I sleep", it was today.

Alex is an African Gray parrot. He can apparently generalize concepts, and understand how language relates to abstractions and generalizations. When he is given tests about how well he understands these concepts, he scores an 85% success rate.

The interesting part is the 15% that are marked wrong.

"Alex, give me the red metal key."
"Want nut."
(mark that response wrong.)
"Alex, give me the red metal key."
"Want nut. Want pasta."
(mark that response wrong.)
"Alex, give me the red metal key."
Alex turns his back on the researcher and shits.
(mark that response wrong.)
"Alex, give me the red metal key."
Alex walks over and picks up and carries over every single object on the tray EXCEPT the red metal key and places them in front of the researcher.
(mark that response wrong)

Yeah. He didn't give the response that would count as being marked "right", but it's hard to argue that he doesn't understand what's going on . . .

He's not the only parrot in the lab, although he's the oldest and has been there the longest. He and the second-longest-tenured parrot will correct the pronounciation of English words of all the other parrots.

Alex makes up new words. He likes bananas and cherries. He was given an apple once, and apparently decided he liked it, because he asked the researchers for another "banary."

Other African grays show similar levels of intelligence. One parrot, who was typically only given orange juice in the morning, asked at dinner time for "breakfast-water."

Another African gray parrot owner was watching a documentary about Alex, with her parrot, Macguyver. Macguyver turned to her and said, "Poopy on Alex. Macguyver is a good bird."

Cockatoos are not at all as skilled at mimicing human speech as parrots are, and are probably not as intelligent. Nonetheless, there are flocks of wild cockatoos that have taken to sitting around outside cafes in Australia, waiting for there to be a good number of customers sitting around, and then mimicing various cell phone rings, just to watch all the humans go diving for their bags and digging through them. These are WILD cockatoos, mind you.

Comments

[red-frog.livejournal.com]

Parrot speech fascinates me. Alex sounds like he's better at language than any I've read about previously--most of those just use their learned responses in a situationally appropriate way.

Funny about the Cockatoos

[zachkessin.livejournal.com]

I heard a story about how dolphins have figured out how to imitate the sounds of ships (including things like WWII depth charges) which apparently causes much confusion on some US Navy subs. (Hey why is there a WWII Imperial Japanese navy ship above us? I thought those were destroyed 50 years ago at the end of the war)

[redbird]

Mockingbirds learn cell phone rings because it's a new and impressive sound they can use to impress other mockingbirds with; if it confuses humans, that's incidental (they're not trying to confuse me when they imitate robin calls either).

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

There was this bank on the corner on the street where I grew up. And they had a dumpster. Which a big truck would come and empty.

This was a very loud process. And, according to local ordinances, they couldn't do loud processes like this before 8 AM. So my parents complained, and the bank promised to look into it, and move their trash pickup later in the day.

My parents complained again, and the bank said that they'd made all appropriate changes and that they'd rescheduled the garbage pickup.

Much confusion ensued over the next several days.

Eventually, it was determined what had happened.

A local mockingbird had decided that "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP *rumble rumble rumblecrash* *dumpster sounds*" was a REALLY COOL call, and was using it.

Re:

[callunav.livejournal.com]

I used to live near the territory of a mockingbird that did *excellent* car alarms.

I'm totally willing to believe that the cockatoos are using the sound to make humans do silly things. Humans form a really large part of the environment for most animals; it would be silly to expect them to be oblivious to our antics or uninterested, and anyone who thinks animals don't have a sense of humor - or something that functions much the same way - has never lived with (and paid attention to) a cat or a dog, let alone spent time with, say, dolphins.

(A friend of mine doing work with dolphins in Hawaii got unmistakably propositioned by a male, one day. There wasn't a female dolphin anywhere in the area, and the signs were, um, very unambiguous. I doubt he really wanted her though...I think he just wanted to make her blush.) :)

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[elynne.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of the mockingbird that did car alarms in my neighborhood, too. :D

Dolphins have been known to - "proposition" female trainers very directly, sometimes to the point of injuring them with attempts at mating. One would assume that they know damn well that the humans aren't dolphins... so is this an example of bestiality in another species?? ;]

[oneironaut.livejournal.com]

There's a similar 'want nut' story at the end of this (interesting, but in this context probably redundant) article, -- something tells me Alex's trainers could fill a good portion of an hour without departing from the truth or the basic

INT. training session:

ALEX: Want nut.

ALEX does something UNCANNY, PERVERSE and/or FUNNY to get it.

formula.

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[nellorat.livejournal.com]

RFascinating--I tend to agree with Redbird that the effects of the cell-phone calls fromthe wild birds could just be incidental, but the lab stuff i* terminology for the wacky-schedule thing: this would be, "I saw it sometime Thur-Fri." (That that sounds like "stirfry" is just a bonus.) Or was it Fri-Sat?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I'm dubious about this, mostly because examples of the higher-order language use of signing apes turned out to be largely cherrypicked. It wasn't at all clear that the researchers were doing it with purposeful deceptiveness - it was just that they seized on exchanges that could be construed as having meaning, and ignored those that could not. We're pattern-seeking animals ourselves, after all.

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

Of course, when we look at the behavior of human toddlers, we also cherrypick the interactions which can be construed to have meaning and ignore (or reprimand) the rest. I'm not sure that means that the toddlers aren't yet using higher order language skills. Maybe they're only using them sometimes, and the ability to use abstractions regularly only comes later.

Everything I've heard about African grays (including from the owner of one who lives in my neighborhood), makes me think they're mentally roughly the same as preschoolers. Granted, when I have an exchange with my preschooler that resembles the one quoted above about the key, she doesn't turn around and shit at me, but she does burst into incoherent howls which aren't much more communicative.

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[copperpoint.livejournal.com]

Yeah, supposedly an african gray parrot is about as smart (and emotionally stable) as a three-year-old.

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

And here I thought my Dad's parrot was the only one to like OJ...

And he'll be walking across the room to get to his cage, and food, but then he'll see me with a red cup, so he'll stop, stare at me, hop up on my lap, and go for the cup. Dad lets him drink from his cup. I think this is gross. Poor birdie...

Re:

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's mate-bonding behavior in parrots. Also, feeding them from your mouth. They love it; they think it's flirtation.

I bet your dad's parrot goes into jealous rages over your dad, too. *g*

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[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

Yes -- ironic that the parrot is the symbol of polyamory.

Re:

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

He also lets the bird eat from his mouth. I think this is revolting.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Alex and his brethren were part of the inspiration for two of my books, SCARDOWN and WORLDWIRED. Intraspecies communication is fascinating.

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

I love African grey parrot stories. :)

My parents' friends had one who, when a dog would visit, would call out "Here boy! Here boy!" from his cage, and then when the dog ran over would bite him on the nose. I saw the same parrot calling out "Here kitty" when he saw a cat through the window too. If only those birds weren't so expensive and I didn't already have a menagerie....

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[cheshyre]

A friend of mine with an African Grey told about the bird's habit of calling the dogs, and once the dogs came into view, switching to "Bad dog. BAD DOG!" reprimands...

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

Wow. I think that parrot is smarter than many humans I know.

You were not at the foo today?

[laurion]

You know, I've actually been called in to fix 'Alex's' Computer. Tehy have an old mac there hooked up to the web, and they let him play around with things online, just to see what he ends up doing with them. Apparently he mostly shits on the (plastic covered) keyboard. And the room he is in has the unfortunate tendency to smell. But htat's the whole building, because they keep a fair variety of animals with a variety of cleaning needs in there.