Lonely Pet Parrots Make Friends Through Video Chat
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
Parrots are highly social creatures. They need the companionship of other birds for their well-being. This is easy enough in the wild, where they live in large flocks. However, the parrots that live in captivity as pets are often bored and isolated. But a new study has found that modern technology may help alleviate the birds' loneliness.
The Northeastern University-led study involved 18 pet parrots across a range of species. The scientists began by teaching the intelligent birds how to video-call on Facebook Messenger. They then spent two weeks introducing each parrot to two or three potential "friends" that were chosen based on their size and their time zone. Once the training was completed, the scientists let the birds decide when they wanted to make a call.
To initiate a call, the parrots would first ring a bell. This alerted their owners that they wanted a smartphone or tablet. The pets would then use their beaks to tap on the photo of the bird they wished to contact. Each parrot could call up to two friends daily and "talk" to them for a maximum of five minutes.
The researchers say the three-month-long study was a resounding success. The clever birds made several calls and were extremely excited to see their new pals.
"Some would sing, some would play around and go upside down, others would want to show another bird their toys," said study coauthor Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas.
(Credit: Northeastern University/ Glasgow University)
A few parrots even learned new skills, like foraging and flying, from their online friends. Even more interesting, many parrots chose to call the same birds repeatedly. This suggested they were forming long-lasting friendships. Jennifer Cunha, a parrot behaviorist at Northeastern, says that her cockatoo, Ellie, is still friends with Cookie, a California-based African grey. "It's been over a year, and they still talk," she says.
The scientists believe that video chats can recreate for parrots some of the social benefits of living in a flock by providing them with companionship and stimulation. However, they caution that not all pet parrots will take to online socializing. Some birds can get aggressive and even violent. They, therefore, urge pet owners to be careful when introducing the birds to the technology and to closely monitor all video chats.
Resources: news.northeastern.edu, Smithsonianmag.com, NPR.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
91 Comments
annel3 monthsIt's so cute how the parrots talked to each other, sang to each other, showed each other their toys, and even showed each other tricks that they knew. The part where they learned how to ring a bell so they can call another friend is so smart, don't you all think?
kittygir1over 1 yearIts so cool that a bird can o that.- sara77over 1 yearLove it
eliasthekingover 1 yearThat is so gang ccuuttee
gawlaxsyover 1 yearThat is so cool!!!
ejf13almost 2 yearsThis is just plain silly, but I like it.
summer_beachalmost 2 yearsThat's really cool! I think they should make an app just for parrots (and maybe other animals that need to see or be around others of there kind). I own hermit crabs (though they should probably be left alone in the wild but I didn't know it at the time) and they need others of there kind too, they can communicate with sound called "chirping" (its pretty much a cricket and frog mix) but they mostly just hangout and use body language. 🦀- eliasthekingover 1 yearI agree
murielalmost 2 yearsThis is awesome and all, but kinda sad at the same time when you think about how birds can't live their natural lives in flocks and stuff in the wild when they are kept in the house all the time where they can't talk to any other birds
Hyeonjeong Kimalmost 2 yearsI love birds and my favorite kind of bird is a parrot.😀
purplehegehog12almost 2 yearsCute!