A response to LNCAG post Knowing water

[Ray P]

Alex the Congo African Grey parrot and his colleague Dr. Irene Pepperberg were a part of a study in parrot cognition for over 30 years at his death.

Alex could identify a number of materials by touch.

This was done in a lab type setting using curtain phrases as not to give a clue to the object, like (what matter is this) that way they knew for sure if he understood the question. This process was complicated. As I read about it I got lost in the process, but they can learn to identify objects.

[LNCAG]

I loved her work with Alex!!!

I even have (somewhere) some early magazine clippings about her and Alex; and of course, she wrote a book. I loved the keys with different materials & colours training!

 

What I am now doing with Snickers is I am also saying 'water' when refilling his water bowl and when he takes a drink from it. His latest evolved phrasing, btw is "Canna hassuh water" (which impressed me since it is in a question form he came up with entirely on his own)

 

We'll see if I can help him learn what water is -- not associate it with my drinking glass or his bowl -- but to identify the substance itself -- in any container.

 

Maybe later I can reverse things, as Pepperberg did, by offering different items and letting him identify which is water.