If you are told that they saw a parrot repeating words, then you will probably say that this is an unconscious repetition at the level of instinct. Just a game. Frankly, and I thought so for some time. But in reality, everything is not so simple.
There is a story about Alex the parrot - an African gray parrot that has been the subject of scientific discussion and research for thirty years.
The animal experiment was conducted by psychologist, Ph. D. Irene Pepperberg at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard and Brandeis Universities. The parrot was purchased from a pet store at about one year old.
Prior to Dr. Pepperberg's work, it was widely believed in the scientific community that birds are stupid and only capable of parodying or imitating sounds and human speech, however, the experiment with Alex the parrot demonstrated and proved that birds can analyze and reason logically at a basic level, creatively. using words and short phrases of human speech. The psychologist wrote that Alex was "the first swallow in the study of intelligence", standing on the same level in experiments with dolphins and great apes.
The researcher demonstrated to the scientific world that the intellectual development of Alex's parrot has reached the level of development of a five-year-old child, and this is not the limit. During the experiment, Pepperberg found out and reported that at the time of death the bird had a level of human emotional development at the age of a two-year-old child.
In 1999, Dr. Pepperberg published Grays' achievements, which states that Alex could identify up to fifty different objects and identify up to six objects at the same time, he can distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and is also aware of the concepts of "more", "less", "The same", "different", "above" and "below", "yes / no". The parrot's vocabulary was about 150 words, but what is most exceptional about the experiment and the parrot is that he understood what he was talking about.
For example, when Alex was shown an object and asked about its shape, color, or material, he gave the correct answers. If a parrot was asked about the difference between two objects, he answered the same or different ("Yes / No"), and - what is the difference. Alex is capable of simple math calculations. When one day the gray was tired of the experiment, he declared: "Wanna go back" (I want to leave), wanting to return to his cage.
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If the researcher showed irritability and denial, Alex would say, “I'm sorry.” When the parrot was offered a nut, he asked in the affirmative: "I want a banana," and, after silently waiting, asked for bananas again. When given a nut instead of a banana, he threw it at the researcher. During research work with a parrot, 80 percent of the answers were logically correct.
Experiments have shown that Alex can distinguish between objects of the same color, but different in the composition of the materials from which they were made. Dr. Pepperberg taught the parrot to recognize and name the written numbers.
In July 2005, Pepperberg announced that Alex was aware of the meaning of zero. In July 2006, she discovered that Alex also perceives optical illusions - similar to human perception.
Alex died on September 6, 2007 at the age of 31. Alex's death was unexpected, as the average lifespan of African gray parrots is about 50 years.
The last words Alex said to Dr. Pepperberg were, “You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you "(" Be good. See you tomorrow. I love you. ").
Jaco are the most capable parrots and, in intellectual development, have shown the highest results. The gray parrot is listed in the Guinness Book of Records and awarded the title of the smartest parrot in the world!
