why do parrots (and especially Greys) speak?

[mattpatresi]

I have yet to find a satisfactory answer to this question - how comes parrots, and especially Greys, are so good at imitating sounds and words, and , most importantly, WHY do they do it and what benefits do they get from this skill in the wild? I've tried looking for material on this subject around the forum, but I can't seem to find any. if anyone can enlighten me....

[she]

In the wild greys and all parrots have a flock,they communicate with the flock by using the sounds of their flock,each sound would represent an action or alarm or contact call.In our homes we are the birds flock so it is us they communicate with and mimic.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2009/10/25 22:01

[Joolesgreyuk]

But Sheila, shouldn't all birds do this then?

[she]

Most flock birds do.Just in other ways. Ever noticed how flocks of starlings will all come down at once and take off as one,this is all flock communication.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2009/10/25 22:57

[Janfromboone]

Yes but why the superior skill of mimicry and speech in the african grey? Do they have a special need for this in the wild?

[Joolesgreyuk]

Not all birds mimic "human speak" though do they, canaries for instance...

[danmcq]

The "Why" is the BIG question.

 

I quote Diana L. May of the Department of Psychology, Psycho biology Program, University of Arizona. After her observations while on a Field study in Africa sponsored by Dr. Irene Pepperberg:

 

""Although such laboratory research has provided a wealth of evidence for captive African Grey Parrot capabilities, limited field research has provided only a hint of African Grey Parrot abilities and their use in wild populations. Cruickshank et al. (1993) provided the first published evidence of vocal mimicry by wild African Grey Parrots in their natural habitat. Their analysis of African Grey Parrot recordings in Zaire shows mimicry of nine species of birds and a bat, but these results provide no explanation or rationale for this behavior. No other recent studies have specifically addressed African Grey Parrot behavior in the wild (see however, general descriptions of behavior by Dändliker 1992).""

 

This is obviously an evolutionary ability that produced the communication skills necessary for the African Greys to live in large flocks and stay safe from predators. Basically survival of species.

 

Their superior speech and sound abilities are a direct function of their physical make up.

 

I quote Dr. Pepperberg in a study she performed on this:

 

""infrared and X-ray cameras as Alex, a trained African grey parrot, spoke a variety of English words. Alex uses the same basic strategy as humans, they, found. He creates a vibration with his syrinx (we use our voicebox), then uses his throat, mouth and tongue to alter the dominant frequencies, or "formants", to give the sound he wants. For example, Alex opens his beak wider for an "en" then for an "ah", and probably pushes his tongue further forward as well.

But Alex lacks lips and teeth, which are critical in forming human consonants. "He has to work harder to come up with a strategy for consonants" says Pepperberg. She still does not know exactly how Alex does it, but some evidence suggests he uses his oesophagus. In making a "b" sound.""

 

There are more questions than answers at this point in time on exactly how they produce it so perfectly.

 

One thing is for certain, they use this ability with their flock to communicate and do so with purpose and the understanding of exactly what they are saying and asking for.<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2009/10/25 23:32

[cf737]

Another interesting point I was told by my vet is how they can learn to speak and other animals cannot. Apparently it is because all other creatures are born with instinctual calls and cries; parrots are not. The only noise they know when they hatch is a small chirp that they know for food, which they abandon when they are weaned. From then on, they pick up the sounds they hear from their flock. In the wild this is the noises from the rest of their flock, in our homes it's our voices, phones, etc. You could say they are just better evolved to communicate in any walk of life.

[Mistyparrot]

Parrots learn human speak because they realise humans are too obdurate to learn parroteze.

 

I believe that all Greys have their own "name" that they use as a contact call. Misty appears to have his own name call that he uses as a call to me . I have never heard another Grey use the same call.

Misty has his own label for water that sounds like pouring water. I know other Greys use a similar vocalisation and he also uses the word "stoppit" to tell me to give him my food. This suggests to me that in the wild they would use labels to inform and request their flock mates. I would think that many of the labels are flock specific but observations of Amazons and Macaws in the wild show that they understand each others labels for flying, tree climbing or ground based threats and will take appropriate actions upon hearing the warning.. Apparently some have even been observed making false alarms to scare rivals away from a favoured food source !

I would suspect that other parrots might select a mate based on their vocal dexterity. This trait is common amongst many bird species especially song birds.

 

Steve n Misty

[mattpatresi]

My word these are very interesting takes on what I believe is a fundamental issue for us Grey lovers. THANKYOU and keep'em comin' !

[jules1962]

It is very interesting. I have often wonderd about this myself

[ecodweeb]

I think greys are the gabby highschool girls with phone bills that come in boxes of the avian world.

 

That's why they talk and mimic.

[Debandbella]

Both my birds early morning call to me when they wake up is "yoooohoooo" If i ignore them Bella starts singing pretty songs for me as she knows i always respond to pretty songs, :laugh:

[SamsDad]

Other birds do learn to imitate other birds calls and can use them for various reasons. We live in the country and my wife throws out peanuts for a pair of Stellar's Jays that live nearby. When the birds arrive in the yard, they often make the call of a hawk and sometimes an Eagle. I'm sure this is to scare away the competition. They even use it on us when we are out in the yard or if one of our cats are in the yard.

 

They quickly learned to come when called and would hop foward excitedly from tree to tree when we said "PEANUT! Come get your PEANUT!" I recently commented to my wife that I bet if we were to hand raise a baby Jay it too would learn to talk and make noises much like a parrot.

 

During mating season Starlings will stand on a high perch and rattle off a huge variety of other birds calls. I remember as a kid hearing a bird in the early morning that would imitate other birds as well as making the sound of distant barking dogs! Maybe for these birds the guy that has the largest vocabulary gets the girl!

 

I don't know why certain species have, and use this ability but it must serve to extend and enhance thier ability to communicate.

 

Tom

[particle77]

both blue jays and starlings can mimic human speech.

 

I wasn't sure about blue jays, but the comment from SamsDad caused me to look it up. I found this paragraph:

 

Blue Jays have a wide variety of vocalizations, with an immense “vocabulary.” Blue Jays are also excellent mimics. Captive Blue Jays sometimes learn to imitate human speech and meowing cats. In the wild, they often mimic Red-shouldered and Red-tailed hawks, and sometimes other species.

 

here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/lifehistory

[particle77]

I couldn't find any videos of a jay talking, but did find this video of a jay making cellphone noises.

 

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=2607026731970927510&hl=en&fs=true%20style=width:400px;height:326px%20allowFullScreen=true%20allowScriptAccess=always%20type=application/x-shockwave-flash

[shanlung]

White rumped shama mimic cat meow

 

http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9/shamasong2.html

[mattpatresi]

Thanks for the great contributions everyone, and sorry I've not answered before, but I hadn't payed my internet connection lol... I highly recommend particle77's video of the jay making cell phone noises...so funny