Species Differences In Vocal Learning By Parrots

Research finds many companion parrots use words in appropriate contexts and uncovers species differences in vocal mimicry, thanks to a crowd-sourced database comprising almost 900 companion parrots

© by GrrlScientist for Forbes | LinkTr.ee

Companion Congo African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). (CC0, public domain)

A very interesting study revealed that many parrots use words in appropriate contexts. This study, based on an analysis of almost 900 companion parrots as reported by a flock of citizen scientists, provides the largest comparative analysis to date of companion parrot vocal repertoires.

Why study companion parrots?

“I spend a lot of time thinking about male and female vocalizations in songbirds, so I first approached parrots from that point of view”, study co-author, Lauryn Benedict, a Professor and Associate Director of UNC’s School of Biological Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) said in email.

“I was interested in a group where the general wisdom was that males and females were equally good vocal learners”, Professor Benedict explained. Currently, the general wisdom is that male songbirds have better vocal abilities than females because they use their song to attract a mate and to defend their territories. In parrots, on the other hand, both sexes may be equally chatty.