The most famous parrot in the world for its ability to imitate human speech is probably 'Alex'. Died in 2007, this African gray parrot was the subject of a scientific experiment for thirty years that aimed to understand its cognitive abilities. Extremely intelligent, phrases like "Pay attention", "Calm down" or "Bye, I'm going to dinner" came out of its beak. See you tomorrow". They were addressed to Irene Pepperberg, the American researcher who worked with him. Although her conclusions are somewhat controversial, this animal psychologist considered that 'Alex' used words creatively, with an intelligence comparable to that of a 5-year-old child. Without going to that extreme, it is well known that parrots are excellent imitators of human speech. But not all are equally good. A team from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ) has analyzed 900 specimens of 73 different species to find the best imitator. The medal goes to the species 'Alex', the African gray parrot. , It is not the most attractive, but it is capable of learning 60 human words. They are followed by cockatoos, amazons and macaws, with average repertoires of 20 to 30 words. And many use the words in appropriate contexts. The research, published in the journal 'Nature Scientific Reports', is part of a scientific project called 'What does Polly say?'. This is the largest comparative analysis to date of the vocal repertoires of parrots. People who live with parrots informed scientists [if you wish, you can participate here] on the number of human 'words' and 'phrases' used by their pets, as well as the sounds associated with humans (such as whistling a tune) and the context in which they produced them. Related News standard No Rats also dance to the rhythm of Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga Patricia Biosca Researchers from the University of Tokyo have discovered that the preference for certain rhythms, which leads us humans to recognize a beat, also occurs in others species The researchers concluded that, when it comes to speaking, the species is decisive. The African gray parrot is, as has long been considered, the best at learning human sounds. With his average 60 words, no one surpasses him in repertoire. Cockatoos, Amazons and macaws are also excellent imitators, with a repertoire of 20 to 30 words. Most species learn more phrases than sounds, but some, including cockatoos and Fischer's lovebirds, learn more human sounds than phrases. Age does not matter. In contrast, age and sex are weak predictors of vocal mimicry. According to the study, juvenile specimens expand their repertoires until they reach maturity, but after that, repertoire sizes reach a plateau. 50-year-old birds do not have larger repertoires than 5-year-old birds. The researchers also found no major differences between males and females in most species. However, there are some exceptions, such as parakeets, in which males have broader vocal repertoires; the Pacific parrots, among which only the males "speak"; and the yellow-headed Amazons, a species in which females learn more sounds. Furthermore, respondents reported that a very high proportion of pet parrots (89 %) spontaneously used human mimicry in appropriate contexts, and most birds did so frequently. Researchers believe that parrots learn both what to say and when to say it. MORE INFORMATION news No A parasite helps wolves become leaders news No The brain of octopuses, more similar to the human than we thought "This research highlights how much parrots can teach us," says Christine Dahlin, professor of Biology at the UPJ and co-author of the study. Both pet and wild parrots use vocal mimicry to navigate their complex social and cognitive worlds. “Approximately 30% of parrot species in the wild are declining to the point of being threatened, endangered or critically endangered, primarily due to poaching and habitat loss. Without conserving the remaining populations, we risk losing the opportunity to understand the evolution of complex communication in these amazing animals," he says.
