THE ANIMAL FILES

Grey parrot

Psittacus erithacus

Learning a sound and using a learned label are different achievements.

Grey parrots have grey plumage, red tails and strong bills. Wild birds eat fruits, nuts and seeds and nest in tree cavities. Detailed cognition studies of particular individuals add another dimension, but should not be converted into a promise that every parrot will perform like a trained research subject.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Grey parrot
Image: Florettesokeng · Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Foods
Fruits, nuts and seeds[1]
Nest
Tree cavity[1]
Young eyes
Darker irises than adults[1]

Not one shade of grey

The head and wings are generally darker than the body, and feather edges add a fine pale pattern. Juveniles broadly resemble adults but have darker eyes; adults have yellow irises around dark pupils. These are useful age-related features without requiring the bird to speak or perform any task.[1]

Wild meals and family care

Fruit, nuts and seeds dominate, with flowers, bark and some animal foods also reported. Wild birds sometimes forage on the ground. Breeding pairs use tree cavities, and chicks require parental feeding after hatching and beyond first leaving the nest. A fledged bird has not necessarily completed its period of dependence.[1]

What Alex demonstrated

Irene Pepperberg’s long-term work with Alex tested learned labels for objects, colours, materials and shapes, along with numerical tasks. Such controlled performance is different from merely repeating a recording. It remains evidence about a studied individual and tasks, not a universal human-child age that can be assigned to the whole species.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Does every copied word prove full human-like understanding?

No. Understanding requires task-specific tests of how learned sounds are used, not imitation alone.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why compare responses across colours and materials when testing a label?

Reveal the explanation

It helps determine whether the bird applies a learned distinction beyond one memorised object.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Psittacus erithacus (adapted and translated; exact revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Psittacus erithacus (identity and game lineage)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

Hyacinth macawA powerful bill still benefits from a better grip on a hard nut.Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus ↗Nanday parakeetA black mask sits above a green body.Aratinga nenday ↗Tanimbar corellaA cockatoo can change the tool when the task changes.Cacatua goffiniana ↗