Parrot mimics owner's voice to boss around her other pets

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the behavior of an African Grey Parrot named Barney, who mimics his owner's voice to communicate with her dogs. Participants explore the implications of this behavior regarding animal intelligence and the nature of mimicry in pets.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that Barney calls the dogs by name and gives commands, suggesting a level of interaction that could imply understanding.
  • Others question whether the parrot truly understands the commands it mimics or if it is simply repeating phrases it has heard without comprehension.
  • A participant argues that anthropomorphism may lead to misinterpretations of animal behavior, suggesting that the bird's actions could be explained by simpler behavioral learning processes rather than intelligence.
  • Another participant references a documentary that highlights the intelligence of parrots, suggesting that they possess a different kind of intelligence compared to humans.
  • One participant shares a personal anecdote about a parrot imitating a cough, implying that parrots may enjoy the reactions they provoke from humans.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the extent of the parrot's intelligence and understanding. Some believe that the mimicry indicates a form of intelligence, while others argue that it may be a result of learned behavior without true comprehension. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the nature of the parrot's abilities.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the potential for anthropomorphic interpretations of animal behavior, which may complicate the understanding of the parrot's actions. There is also mention of anecdotal evidence versus scientific research on animal intelligence.

Ivan Seeking
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Barney, an African Grey Parrot, calls Margaret Sullivan's three dogs – Harry, Tilly and Bluey – by name.

The bird, 10, squawks out orders like "come here" and even offers praise to his favourites such as "good dog".

...Mrs Sullivan, a grandmother-of-seven, bought Barney as a young parrot in 1998 and he has been perfecting her voice and accent ever since...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...ners-voice-to-boss-around-her-other-pets.html
 
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Breaking news- nutty old woman thinks her pet has human-like intelligence.

Of course the bird mimics frequently uttered phrases and of course the dogs obey, but does it know what it's doing?
 
I think it would be pretty amazing if the bird was in fact able to duplicate commands that he dogs obey! If the bird understood what was happening, that would be even more amazing, but I don't know if this claim is even made.
 
Apparently none of you have lived closely with a good bird.
 
matthyaouw said:
does it know what it's doing?
Why would the nutty old lady know better than the parrot ?
 
I don't know if I'd call her nutty. Almost all of us who have critters are guilty of highly anthropomorphic interpretations of our pets' behaviors now and then. Maybe sometimes we're right, but there's a good chance we're more than often wrong.

I don't know why such a big deal is made in the article about the imitation of her voice. The bird learned the phrases from her. Of course, it sounds like her. What would seem to be more astonishing is if the bird uttered those phrases sounding unlike the owner he had learned them from, for instance, if he sounded like a previous owner but was using the new owner's phrases.

To look at a simpler explanation than the bird enjoying ordering the other animals around: perhaps one day the bird is mindlessly imitating the owner and a certain phrase it reproduces causes the dog to come over. Maybe this creates an association because something interesting happens when that phrase is produced (the dog comes over). The bird learns also through trial and error that imitating "good dog" produces interesting results (tail wagging, for example). It could be just that the bird is bored and is rewarded with something novel for producing certain sounds. Or perhaps the owner finds this all "cute" and rewards the bird with treats for the behavior (and maybe even the dog, too, reinforcing the behavior on both sides).

It's not that I don't find cognitive abilities of African Greys impressive (because I am truly amazed by the research of Irene Pepperberg), I just think that this report is anecdotal and could be easily explained by simpler behavioral learning processes.
 
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There is an acclaimed documentary film, "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill", that might help some of you come to the realization that parrots are rather acutely intelligent animals, though with a somewhat different psychology than human beings.
 
Once, someone caught the flu and a parrot we had imitated the nasty cough. I half suspected the parrot enjoyed the reaction of everyone finding the sound pretty gross.