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We have a parrot and he definitely understands the difference between “put kiwi to bed” and using “bed” in any other context. Of course it could also be becaus

by Swizec 6y ago

We have a parrot and he definitely understands the difference between “put kiwi to bed” and using “bed” in any other context. Of course it could also be because he correlates environment cues to bed time. Either way, birds are smarter than you think until you spend time observing them.

yowlingcat 6y ago
I've been wanting to get a parrot for a while. How often do parrots end up speaking like colorful, foul-mouthed sailors [1]? Seems charming, honestly. [1] https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/09/zoo-separates-foul-mouthed-parrots-for-swearing-too-much.html https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/09/zoo-separates-foul-mouthe...
- Swizec 6y ago
  Depends on the species. Mine doesn’t talk, he instead learned to whistle. His species (sun conure) doesn’t normally whistle, he picked it up from me. It’s more pleasant than the 80db screams so we encourage it. He used to say his name sort of (if you added some human pattern recognition magic) but stopped after we moved apartments. No idea why. The worst is when he mimics human speech patterns. You can tell it isn’t words but it’s close enough to distract you every time. Main thing with parrots is that they’re more work than people think. Like human children they get bored, have tantrums, internal emotional states, and respond to the same stimuli differently based on mood. And unlike children they cannot be reasoned with. Some are smart enough to lie and obscure because they have theory of mind. And they stay like that for 30 years. Some species even longer.
- jacquesm 6y ago
  I'd suggest you do some 'parrot sitting' first, look after someone's parrot for a while to see if it is something that you will really like. A lot of parrots get bought as impulse buys by people who have absolutely no idea what it is like to actually have a parrot and to have to take care of it.
  - yowlingcat 6y ago
    Yeah, that's always the right answer. I've gone through this mental exercise multiple times before -- I want to get a parrot! But they live a long time and are extremely intelligent. They're very independent and when they are unhappy can become destructive. Am I a good enough beast-keeper to pull that off? Not really. I agree with you that parrot sitting is a smart idea.
davisr 6y ago
> birds are smarter than you think until you spend time observing them People, too.
danenania 6y ago
I wonder how generalizable research on parrot language would be to other bird species? They seem to be pretty unique in their capabilities, but perhaps that's just from a human perspective.
- Swizec 6y ago
  Some corvids can learn how to speak but I haven’t heard whether they understand the words. With parrots there’s evidence that some species learn meanings of the words they use.

by Swizec 6y ago

yowlingcat 6y ago

I've been wanting to get a parrot for a while. How often do parrots end up speaking like colorful, foul-mouthed sailors [1]? Seems charming, honestly. [1] https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/09/zoo-separates-foul-mouthed-parrots-for-swearing-too-much.html https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/09/zoo-separates-foul-mouthe...

Swizec 6y ago
Depends on the species. Mine doesn’t talk, he instead learned to whistle. His species (sun conure) doesn’t normally whistle, he picked it up from me. It’s more pleasant than the 80db screams so we encourage it. He used to say his name sort of (if you added some human pattern recognition magic) but stopped after we moved apartments. No idea why. The worst is when he mimics human speech patterns. You can tell it isn’t words but it’s close enough to distract you every time. Main thing with parrots is that they’re more work than people think. Like human children they get bored, have tantrums, internal emotional states, and respond to the same stimuli differently based on mood. And unlike children they cannot be reasoned with. Some are smart enough to lie and obscure because they have theory of mind. And they stay like that for 30 years. Some species even longer.
jacquesm 6y ago
I'd suggest you do some 'parrot sitting' first, look after someone's parrot for a while to see if it is something that you will really like. A lot of parrots get bought as impulse buys by people who have absolutely no idea what it is like to actually have a parrot and to have to take care of it.
- yowlingcat 6y ago
  Yeah, that's always the right answer. I've gone through this mental exercise multiple times before -- I want to get a parrot! But they live a long time and are extremely intelligent. They're very independent and when they are unhappy can become destructive. Am I a good enough beast-keeper to pull that off? Not really. I agree with you that parrot sitting is a smart idea.

davisr 6y ago

> birds are smarter than you think until you spend time observing them People, too.

danenania 6y ago

I wonder how generalizable research on parrot language would be to other bird species? They seem to be pretty unique in their capabilities, but perhaps that's just from a human perspective.

Swizec 6y ago
Some corvids can learn how to speak but I haven’t heard whether they understand the words. With parrots there’s evidence that some species learn meanings of the words they use.