Pet Forum / Birds / Birds / January 2004

Had this sent to me today and thought RPB folks would find this very
interesting as I did.
--
Linda
Montreal, Quebec, CANADA

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3430481.stm

Parrot's Oratory Stuns Scientists

By: Alex Kirby
BBC News Online environment correspondent

Feathered Prodigy: N'kisi Leads the Field

The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate
with people has brought scientists up short.

The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950
words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.

He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas
with which his existing repertoire cannot cope -- just as a human child
would do.

N'kisi's remarkable abilities, which are said to include telepathy,
feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine.

N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human
language in the animal world.

About 100 words are needed for half of all reading in English, so if
N'kisi could read he would be able to cope with a wide range of material.

Polished Wordsmith

He uses words in context, with past, present and future tenses, and is
often inventive.

One N'kisi-ism was "flied" for "flew", and another "pretty smell
medicine" to describe the aromatherapy oils used by his owner, an artist
based in New York.

When he first met Dr. Jane Goodall, the renowned chimpanzee expert, after
seeing her in a picture with apes, N'kisi said: "Got a chimp?"

School's In: He is a Willing Learner

He appears to fancy himself as a humourist. When another parrot hung
upside down from its perch, he commented: "You got to put this bird on
the camera."

Dr. Goodall says N'kisi's verbal fireworks are an "outstanding example of
interspecies communication".

In an experiment, the bird and his owner were put in separate rooms and
filmed as the artist opened random envelopes containing picture cards.

Analysis showed the parrot had used appropriate keywords three times more
often than would be likely by chance.

Captives' Frustrations

This was despite the researchers discounting responses like "What ya
doing on the phone?" when N'kisi saw a card of a man with a telephone,
and "Can I give you a hug?" with one of a couple embracing.

Professor Donald Broom, of the University of Cambridge's School of
Veterinary Medicine, said: "The more we look at the cognitive abilities
of animals, the more advanced they appear, and the biggest leap of all
has been with parrots."

Alison Hales, of the World Parrot Trust, told BBC News Online: "N'kisi's
amazing vocabulary and sense of humour should make everyone who has a pet
parrot consider whether they are meeting its needs.

"They may not be able to ask directly, but parrots are long-lived, and a
bit of research now could mean an improved quality of life for years."