3 ms·

Parrots separated at zoo after encouraging each to curse profusely at guests

21 points by hhs 6y ago

hhs 6y ago
> Nichols told BBC News that the parrots "swear to trigger reaction or a response," so seeing people shocked or laughing only encourages the birds to curse more. This is similar to social media and infotainment.
- tsomctl 6y ago
  Interesting explanation. I was thinking the local teenagers had been encouraging them.
- jfim 6y ago
  Looks like they're optimizing for engagement. It's only a matter of time before the parrots start delivering targeted advertising.
- Gibbon1 6y ago
  Supposedly my great aunt had a parrot that would wolf whistle at attractive women walking by the house.
downshun 6y ago
Clearly it's the parrot's fault. \s
AndyMcConachie 6y ago
"Still, keepers thought it would be best to keep them away from children so not to ruffle any feathers." I appreciate it when writers are allowed to have a little fun with language.
phibz 6y ago
I was disappointed by very little detail and lots of ads. Sadly it seems the story takes backseat to the CTA
sschueller 6y ago
Why would you seperate them? This is pure gold, make it for adults only and charge extra.
djohnston 6y ago
What an awful awful article that really captures how garbage media is: Video on top, ads and then it has nothing to do with the parrots being discussed. IG link: Photos and no audio. Am I insane for getting worked about how trash this is?
- fred_is_fred 6y ago
  Person with adblocker on who is not paying for journalism is upset about quality? Yes - you are getting too worked up.
  - Gibbon1 6y ago
    > adblocker ah hem, spyware blocking/privacy shield.
  - djohnston 6y ago
    quite obviously dont have adblocker on since i said above that there was an ad...
gwittel 6y ago
A better link might be the original BBC story: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-54340425 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-54340425 > "I'm hoping they learn different words within colonies - but if they teach the others bad language and I end up with 250 swearing birds, I don't know what we'll do," he added. This will be an interesting experiment.
80mph 6y ago
Reminds me of the transgenic parrot in Michael Crichton's 'Next'.

21 points by hhs 6y ago

hhs 6y ago

> Nichols told BBC News that the parrots "swear to trigger reaction or a response," so seeing people shocked or laughing only encourages the birds to curse more. This is similar to social media and infotainment.

tsomctl 6y ago
Interesting explanation. I was thinking the local teenagers had been encouraging them.
jfim 6y ago
Looks like they're optimizing for engagement. It's only a matter of time before the parrots start delivering targeted advertising.
Gibbon1 6y ago
Supposedly my great aunt had a parrot that would wolf whistle at attractive women walking by the house.

downshun 6y ago

Clearly it's the parrot's fault. \s

AndyMcConachie 6y ago

"Still, keepers thought it would be best to keep them away from children so not to ruffle any feathers." I appreciate it when writers are allowed to have a little fun with language.

phibz 6y ago

I was disappointed by very little detail and lots of ads. Sadly it seems the story takes backseat to the CTA

sschueller 6y ago

Why would you seperate them? This is pure gold, make it for adults only and charge extra.

djohnston 6y ago

What an awful awful article that really captures how garbage media is: Video on top, ads and then it has nothing to do with the parrots being discussed. IG link: Photos and no audio. Am I insane for getting worked about how trash this is?

fred_is_fred 6y ago
Person with adblocker on who is not paying for journalism is upset about quality? Yes - you are getting too worked up.
- Gibbon1 6y ago
  > adblocker ah hem, spyware blocking/privacy shield.
- djohnston 6y ago
  quite obviously dont have adblocker on since i said above that there was an ad...

gwittel 6y ago

A better link might be the original BBC story: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-54340425 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-54340425 > "I'm hoping they learn different words within colonies - but if they teach the others bad language and I end up with 250 swearing birds, I don't know what we'll do," he added. This will be an interesting experiment.

80mph 6y ago

Reminds me of the transgenic parrot in Michael Crichton's 'Next'.