An interesting observation

[Kaedyn]

While showing Rigel pictures of greys modeling for one of those glossy bird magazines, I found his reactions both really interesting and quite entertaining. Some photos caused him to reach out and attempt to gently beak the bird in the magazine, while a photo of a grey on another page caused him to pull back and make his signature, "I don't like that" whistle.

 

More interesting is that his reactions were very consistent. If he didn't like a particular photo, he also didn't like that same photo when I returned to it later. Any photo he did like, he continued to react positively to.

 

I'd love to know exactly what it was about each of the eight or so greys that he did or didn't like, but I suppose I'd have to be a grey to understand. Isn't it amazing how they're capable of seeing a two dimensional image and recognizing it as another grey in the first place?

[judygram]

Yes it is Jim, amazing and interesting at the same time but yes we would have to be a grey to know what was going thru his mind at the time.

 

Maybe someone else has tried this very thing with their grey and will share their thoughts with us and thank you Jim for sharing yours with us.

[BaxtersMom]

Me and my husband were surfing through african grey videos on you tube the other night. It gives us a good laugh and we like seeing other peoples greys and other birds. We got our grey out and he was perched on my husband hand and I couldn't believe that he was glued to the computer screen and watching every video and very interested in it. He couldn't take his eyes off it. That one threw me for a loop:P

[judygram]

I will have to try that Erika, I know when I click on one of those videos that someone shares with us that Josey will pay attention to the sounds, she does listen intently. I will have to bring her closer the next time so she can see the screen and see if she will watch intently, hmmmm, we'll see.:cheer:

[danmcq]

They definitely show their feelings regarding likes and dislikes when it comes to photos, videos of other Parrots or watching TV.

 

If Dayo likes a Parrot he see's on video he will wolf whistle and give kisses to it. Others, he will turn his back and start paying attention to something else in the house.

 

He will watch movies very intently with us and give wolf whistles and kisses to people or animals he seems to enjoy, make his little baby chirp if something or sound scares him, say Uh Oh when something happens like a fall or shooting etc.

 

These Greys and other parrots are amazingly in-tune with whats going on in videos and movies, as you can tell by there reactions. :-)

[Kaedyn]

For a while, I've been interested in investigating how our greys perceive video from televisions and computer monitors. We already know that they react to online videos of other greys, but I question how the video appears to them.

 

Their eyes and brains are capable of much higher image rates then ours-for high speed flight-yet most video devices operate at refresh rates just above the limit of human vision. So the question is, does the screen flicker distort the image they see?

 

I figure some screens may be worse than others. I typically watch television via a DLP projector and I've never once noticed any of my birds react to the images, just the audio. Yet, they stare intently at YouTube videos on my LCD monitor.

 

Irine Pepperberg did a study on training african greys with audio and video presentations. She didn't have much success and it was initially blamed on the low refresh rate of CRT screens (old glass TVs). They were also concerned with possible color distortions, since birds have tetra-chromatic vision, which is their ability to see in 4 colors: red, green, blue, and ultraviolet. So, they tried LCD screens instead, which didn't do much better. I think the final conclusion was that it wasn't so much a visual problem as it was a live stimulus problem.

 

For those who like to torture themselves with academic articles, here is the Pepperberg study and another on avian vision:

 

http://www.alexfoundation.org/papers/Pepperberg,Wilkes.pdf

http://www.csulb.edu/web/labs/bcl/elab/avian%20vision_intro.pdf

[Laurie]

I have spent quite a bit of time on You Tube enjoying various Grey antics with Klaus on my shoulder acting bored, frankly.

Then one day we watched a video of Makena on here and he really reacted...he was very interested, and babbling back.

So I think he just has a "thing" for Makena! :lol:

[zooman]

very interesting my grey doesnt have the patience for looking at magazines just tearing them up..lol. As for tv. I once was watching a nature show and his stand is near the tv and i have a large plasma and it was about birds and he listens intently on the noises and this one scene it was these birds taking off in flight and scared the crap out of him and it seemed like he thought they were flying at him and he duck for cover. I had to laugh them reassure him he was fine..