Being Called a Bird Brain

A story goes about a household whose doorbell kept ringing at random times during the night. The police were called and the blame was placed on the neighbors. The story made its way into the papers and the pastor preached a sermon the following Sunday, warning of the consequences of such thoughtless behavior. However, the doorbell kept ringing, causing uproar in the family. When alas, one of the household members noticed that the family's pet parrot was laughing. It was the parrot all along.

According to Karen Webster of Anchorage, a parrot behavior consultant, and the owner of eight parrots, parrots love to entertain themselves at the expense of their human owners. Her Lesser Jardine's parrot will make a sound that resembles her telephone ringing. Then, her Congo African Grey will answer with, "hello." Her Timneh African Grey will then chide in with, "Ok, bye." They will repeat this routine endlessly for their own entertainment.

Most of us are aware that parrots and other birds can talk. But do they understand as well? According to Irene Pepperberg, Harvard University research associate, the answer is yes. That answer comes after thirty years of study.

Her African Grey parrot, Alex, can identify 100 different objects, seven different colors, five shapes, and quantities up to six. Alex also understands concepts such as bigger and smaller. Does all this make Alex a parrot of unique intelligence, or are all parrots capable of being this intelligent?

Liz Wilson, a certified parrot behavior consultant from Philadelphia, says the answer is not quite clear yet. But thanks to the efforts of Irene Pepperberg, the answer may soon be discovered.

There are over one hundred species of parrots being kept as pets. But only the budgies and the cockatiels are truly domestic. The other ninety-eight species have been removed from the wild only a few generations back. This makes the study a little more of a challenge.