The vocal persona a Grey uses....why?

[danmcq]

I have been musing of late on the speech and more importantly the voice the Grey decides to use predominately.

 

Our Grey Dayo is my wife's snuggle muffin. Yet, he uses my voice and most every term and description I do of items and actions. If he does use a phrase my wife uses, it's always in my voice. Every once in a blue moon, he will use someone else's voice.

 

I wish I had a whole flock of Greys to observe this behaviour in and try to quantify what they are basing their choice on.

 

However, since I only have one, I must assume the worst. Dayo is taking on all my expressions and voice. I suspect soon I will return home and he will have my clothes on wooing my wife. I think he's trying to steal her!! ;-)

 

Now, back to being serious, which voice does your Grey use?

[Luvparrots]

Well it will either be Elvis Presley or me, hope its Elvis I play his songs when I turn off the lights in my new grey's room in hopes..... If its me, poor baby... when I answer the phone people still ask to speak to my mommy or the lady of the house..lol. I'll let you know as soon as she says her first words:silly: :lol:

[gourdlady247]

I don't know George has pretty much stopped talking. At first he would talk our ears off but now he just mimics the phone or does this whistle thing he does. He used to ask us whats your problem on a regular basis.

[SchroedersJen]

Schroeder doesn't talk, but we adopted a senegal today that does....Maybe Schroeder will start using the new birds voice?

[Poppy]

George mimics everything in my voice,no matter who says it in the first place !

[Toni]

Alcazar does everything in my voice.Except for Goddbye, he does it like the computer.

[danmcq]

This is getting some good feedback.

 

It is understandable that, if only one person interacts with with their Grey 99% of the time. That it will use the voice it is learning from.

 

However, when there are two or more individuals, is what I am trying to quantify the Greys selection of the "Voice" they use 95% of all requests for food, play, calling another human or animal by name etc.

 

It may simply be the Voice they find most appealing to represent themselves or is it deeper, such as the one whom they view as the "Role Model", "Most Dominant", "Friendly", "Smartest" ;-) etc.

 

Thanks for all the responses so far!!<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/12/07 15:16

[Janfromboone]

Tobie mimics my husband. He is bonded with me, but all of his first words and phrases came from my husband and he has a deep voice like my husband. Now he will say some things that I say to him, but I can't just repeat a word or phrase a few times and expect him to say it. My husband can do this. He sais a phrase in passing the cage and the next day Tobie is saying it. Very frustrating for me.

[LindaMary]

Well the way this makes sense to me is that your grey is using the voice of the human who is closest to the person he or she is bonded with. Kind of like you were getting at in jest, Dan when you talked about Dayo wearing your clothes and wooing your wife - I actually think that might be what he's trying to do.:evil: He probably sees that when you speak your wife responds to you - and Jen that when your husband speaks you respond to him - and so when they speak "human" they pick the voice that usually gets a response from their most-loved human. Clever little devils!:evil: :evil:

[Kaedyn]

Rigel and Sierra both seem to use the voice of the person/bird that they learned a particular phrase from. They also tend to use the tone and inflection commonly used for that particular phrase. Since Rigel is all about business, the majority of the tones he uses are everyday speak in my voice or that of anyone else in the house. Sierra being the more outwardly affectionate one who sits close on my shoulder, repeats phrases in a more quiet tone. That's because, it's what she's used to when I turn my head her way and talk to her.

 

As of late, they've both started learning phrases from each other. Rigel has learned Sierra's "Whatcha doin?" and repeats it in her quiet and higher pitched voice. I say the same phrase around him in a normal voice, so I'm not sure if he feels that he needs to copy her because she gets attention when she says it, or if he just hears it from her all day while I am at work and assumes it to be a Sierra original.

 

Sierra will repeat many of Rigel's phrases in his voice (being either mine or anyone else in the house). It's humorous too, since right in the middle of her quiet and high pitched speech, she'll throw in a growling deep bass sounding word and then right back to the higher pitch.

 

The only downside to each of them learning phrases from each other is that they are both still learning to articulate clearly. Hence, any phrase that they pick up from the other is just a bit less accurate than the original.

[danmcq]

I am tending towards your thought Linda, even though I said it in jest, I am suspecting it as you describe. They see interaction between the "Flock". How the Flock communicates with one another etc.

 

They watch and listen to the verbal interaction between a married couple for example and take on the role of the "Competition" to woo the other away in the favor. :-) These Greys are much smarter, I believe, than what the scientific community, other than Dr. Pepperburg, have given them credit for.

 

This is where I believe Dr. Pepperburgs studies were so effective with using two individuals interacting with each other in identifying shapes, colors etc. and Alex, Griffith and others in the lab watching and learning the correct correlation.

 

They do learn very well in one on one interaction when training also, but perhaps not as well with role models to watch person to person or person to other Grey/Parrot etc.

 

I am looking forward to hearing more from you and others on this.

[casper]

Very interesting thread Dan!

 

Charlie my eldest grey is the main talker out of the three and says just about everything in my husbands voice! Even if it is obviously something he has picked up from me he will say this in Daves voice!

 

Keeko the middle grey mimics everything that Charlie does so now we have two greys talking in Daves voice which is actually quite freaky at times!

 

One morning I thought I heard Dave asking what I was doing, I turned round and realised Dave was still upstairs, it was Charlie!

 

I am the one who has bonded with all three greys and spends all day with them but they choose to speak like my husband! Strange!

 

Caroline.

[she]

I am with LindaMary on this. It does seem a remarkably simple explenation. Yet another example of inteligence. Caroline this appears to be happening with you. You have bonded with the greys but Dave gets your attention when he speaks so the greys talk like him to gain your attention.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2008/12/07 21:56

[Tycos_mom]

Tyco Talks in Either of my 2 daughters voices depending on which one of them is getting my attention at the time. She usualy talks in my Youngest daughters voice because she is home allot more than my oldest daughter. I have noticed though that when she laughs she laughs exactly like me.

[Jane08]

Our male is bonded to me, but never does he learn any words from me. I know this because I speak English and my boyfriend speaks Swedsih to him. Our bird only uses Swedish and 1 English word that was not taught by me. He learns everything from my boyfriend and speaks with his voice. He seems to be so fascinated with my boyfriends voice that every day he sits on his hand and listens to him speak and then a few days later he repeats the words.

 

The thing is our male bird knows the English words even though he doesn't say them. I say to him in English it's time for a shower and he looks at me and says the word in Swedish to me. I then ask him in English if he wants to come with me and he raises his foot and says in Swedish up. That is his way of telling me he wants to come with me.

 

Our female also speaks with my boyfriends voice and learns everything from him and from our male grey. She is bonded to my boyfriend.

[danmcq]

You are all making this a GreYt Topic. The information you are all posting about your Greys voice and who's they use, is truly helping in building a strong support for the theory that they do indeed mimic one they may feel in competition with or just feel that is the voice to use to best get their "Cuddle Muffin" to respond in a favorable way to.

 

Jane - Congratulations on having a multi-lingual Grey that can translate either way. That is very impressive and continues to build a stronger case for Dr. Pepperburg's research and findings that Greys are NOT just "Mimics". They are intelligent sentient beings that truly "Think". :-)

 

Speaking of Dr. Irene Pepperburg, if you haven't picked up a copy of "Alex and Me", I would highly recommend it. I'm about half way through and it is truly a "Must Read" for any Grey or Parrot owner. :-)<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2008/12/08 15:56

[icegudi]

My bird is bonded with both me and my boyfriend, but has always spent more time with me because I am more home and yes, he speaks with his voice and learns from him except when he makes cuddle sounds, its more like over exaggerated me "mooooooshie mooooosie woooo". I am his cuddly person.

 

Its so amazing to see that they tend to do that quite often in general. We know another couple who have an African grey and he mimics the woman but is more cuddly with her husband. Amazing birds.

[Lyric]

My TAG doesn't speak, but if he did I imagine it would be with my boyfriend's voice.

I have read that they will take on the voice of the person they believe is their competition for your affection. Many of your responses to this seem to support this theory. I imagine it isn't always true, just as all birds are individuals, but as they learn from watching our interactions, they will learn to respond to you as your significant other would. Good topic Dan, it is very interesting that's for sure!