Interesting article on "Parrotese" in the wild

[danmcq]

Since Dave mentioned "Parrotese". I started looking for any articles or research that had bee done on the calls of Parrots in the wild. This article is VERY interesting:

 

Hamburg, Aug 1 (DPA) In a discovery that is likely to rekindle the debate about language in the animal kingdom, researchers in Germany have found that some parrots appear to give their offspring individual names.

 

Animal behavioral scientists at the University of Hamburg say that parrots use a distinctive call for each of their chicks, with no two chicks being given the same 'name' call.

 

The small South American parrots also apparently have name calls for their mates.

 

'The birds very definitely use a particular call exclusively with a particular bird and never for any other bird,' says Rolf Wanker, head of the Hamburg University Zoological Institute's behavioural research laboratory.

 

'What is not yet clear, however, is whether these calls can be equated with what we would call names such as Hans or Fritz or whether they could be more generic labels such as 'my baby' or 'my mate',' he adds.

 

The studies were inspired by observations in the spectacled parrotlet's natural habitat in Colombia. There, researchers noted that individual parrots seemed to respond to specific calls that other parrots in the same flock ignored.

 

'A mother bird had the uncanny ability to utter a cry that would result in her chick returning to the nest immediately amid the cacophony of the other parrots all around,' Wanker recalls.

 

'It was obvious that the baby knew it was being called,' he says.

 

At the laboratory here, studies showed that these name equivalents are fractional cries lasting between 90 and 120 milliseconds.

 

The cry is distinctive enough to provide acoustic clues as to the identity of the individual uttering the call and also to the identity of the intended recipient bird.

 

'A mother bird uses a different call for her baby from the one she uses for her mate, and they respond with calls that correspondent to her identity,' he says.

 

Similar findings have been achieved with certain primates and with dolphins. Many years ago, British TV science producer David Attenborough showed that macaque monkeys use distinctive alarm calls to alert other monkeys to danger.

 

Macaques will use one call to identify a panther, thus telling other monkeys to climb up a tree. But they will use a different call to identify a python, thus ensuring that all the monkeys climb down a tree that has a snake lurking in its branches.

 

Other studies have determined that birds develop regional 'accents' and 'dialects' depending on their location. Sparrows in the eastern US are known to have subtly different chirps from their cousins on the west coast.

 

The German findings are the first involving parrots. The spectacled parrotlet is among the smallest parrots, only slightly larger than budgerigars. The bright green birds with a distinctive yellow ring around their eyes live in eastern Panama and northern Colombia.

 

In the study, parent birds and their chicks were placed in separate cages within earshot of each other but out of view of each other.

 

The birds' calls to each other were recorded and later played back to the individual birds to ascertain their response. The findings demonstrated that each bird used name-specific calls.

 

Wanker shies away from calling this labelling behaviour any form of language, noting that it has yet to be proved conclusively whether humans are the only animals capable of abstract linguistic structures.

 

'Parrots are unique among avians,' he says. 'They are the primates of the avian world and are very highly developed creatures with complex social systems and prodigious cognitive skills.'

[Mistyparrot]

Thank for posting such an interesting article Dan.

Ever since I have had Misty since he was two he has had a particular musical phrase of about eight notes that I have regarded as his personal call. I have never heard another Grey make the same call. I am not sure it is quite right to think of it as a name but it is his unique call. Often if I am in another part of the house he will call out and I will whistle back. He seems to enjoy the exchange.

Other times he will set up a series of calls and responses with a variation on each exchange. However it nearly always begins with the original phrase.

I have read that some "experts" say one should not whistle to their Grey as it would discourage him from learning human speech. This has never been the case with Misty and I believe that should he ever take an unauthorised trip out side he would have a better chance of hearing me whistle out his contact call than with me calling his human speech name.

 

Just my 2p

 

Steve n Misty

[danmcq]

That was a good "2p" Steve.

 

I have whistled to Dayo since the day he came home at 16 weeks old.

 

The only down side I see to it, is it makes him louder at times than a grey that had not been whistled to, perhaps.

 

It did not seem to slow down his speech whatsoever, unless not really starting to talk until a year old is considered "Slow".

 

Now, at 2 years 8 months old, he picks up a new word or phrase in 2 days flat and uses it in the correct context.

 

I agree also, that the peculiar contact call each of our Greys use for us, is the call that we will hear and respond to if or when they ever fly away. I can hear Dayos contact outside when the house is closed and 50 feet away. I can not hear any "Speech" even if I am standing a foot from the window and can see his beak moving but hear only silence. :-)

[Mistyparrot]

Cheers Dan.

I have never found Misty to be too loud especially compared to friends Amazons and Macaws, As for the dreaded Toos, in spite of their loving nature I consider them to be ear bleeds waiting to happen::lol:

 

Steve n Misty

[Dave007]

Well, I only mention parrotese where it has to do with people who are worried about the capability of their greys as far as talking which personally in my opinion is a very unimportant thing to worry about.

I've studied greys and their language in the home and find that they will use their own parrot language in order to communicate during the day. I find that my other birds communicate with each other much more often when they're using their own language as opposed to one who is only mimicing human language. Why do I say mimicing? Because as much as people think that their birds are constantly sending messages to us, those same birds will say the same things all day long and aren't trying to communicate with us at all. Most of the time, they're not even looking at the person.

But other opinions are fine because as I said, I only discuss it to people who are putting the ability at an important level which is really not that important. I understand all the things my birds say to me in parrotese and I had to study that for quite a long time and it's an extremely enjoyable experience.

[danmcq]

Dave - Your absolutely right regarding whether they ever utter a word or not. They are loved just like any other critter, whether they speak or not.

 

Also, they definitely do like to chatter to themselves all day long with no reason other than to hear themselves talk and practice.

 

There are those times though, that they are 100 percent focused on a person, critter and requesting something or stating something that just took place or is taking place in the correct context.

 

At that point, they are not mimicking, they are using a "Sound" correctly for the "Thing" they wish to communicate.

 

I believe the article I posted was specifically discussing "Parrotese" in the sense of a birds "Natural" language though.

 

I hope I didn't offend you using a term you used or coined that I had never heard before. Thus the research to see if anything existed web wide on that word. :-)

[Dave007]

No, you didn't. I know you wouldn't do that. If you did, I'd make you an offer you couldn't refuse.

[danmcq]

Whew!!!

 

Didn't want the Forum "Godfather" upset with me. :lol: