Blue and Gold Macaws and African Grey Parrots: Can They Really Talk?

Blue and Gold Macaws can be found in South America, Central America, and the southern tip of Florida....as well as in many zoos, pet stores, and homes. Although they are not at risk as much as many other types of macaws, Blue and Gold Macaws are on the endangered list in Trinidad. Part of the reason for the decline in macaws is the pet trade.

The Blue and Gold Macaw pictured here lives at Ardastra Zoo and Gardens in Nassau. He not only greets visitors as they enter the zoo, he also poses for pictures with them as they leave!

I can't help but wonder though. Is he sleeping on the job?

Photo © by Janiece.

If you listened to the youtube above, you'll have heard one opinion about parrots and language. "All they are capable of doing is mimicking the sounds they hear. They don't really know what they are saying."

That's what we've always been told, right?

But in recent years, some people are disagreeing. Keep reading. In the next section, we hear a very different opinion!

Ray is a Blue and Green Macaw. His owner wrote: "Ray knows what he is saying and how to get what he wants by saying certain things - he only asks for potatoes when I am cooking potatoes. My Gray regularly says "I wanna come out" and then rattles the locks, or "How about some water?" when his water bottle is empty. They are extremely smart!"

We can train a dog to "sit" or "beg" or "roll over" and he'll understand what we want him to do. It seems to me that "Ray" in the video above is trained in much the same way. He knows which response goes with which question - not that he always responds appropriately. He did remind me a bit of a human toddler who's mom is trying to get him to show off. Those of you with kids probably know what I"m taking about! The kid does something so cute when no one but you are watching, but let Grandma come over and suddenly your toddler acts clueless as to how to do or say it again!

Okay, most human toddlers don't do it to that extreme, nor does Ray in the video. Ray did come up with the correct response quite a few times! He demonstrated that he was doing more than just mouthing off words at random. But is that communicating any more than rolling over is when a human tells their dog to roll over? It's a form of communication. Sure. The human is communicating with the animal, and the animal is responding. But could there be anything more between humans and their feather, scale, or fur covered friends? Could the conversation ever become more of a two way affair?

Keep reading...

photo of African grey parrot by Michael Gwyther-Jones

Another highly intelligent bird is the African Grey Parrot. African Grey Parrots are medium sized parrots that live in the rainforests of West and Central Africa. There are two types of Africa Grey parrots: Congo African Greys and Timneh African Greys. Although captive parrots in general are known for their ability to make human sounds, African Grey Parrots have even been documented mimicking sounds from other species while in the wild!

Alex was an African Grey Parrot. He was taught abou 150 words by researcher Dr. Irene Pepperberg. Alex wasn't just taught how to speak the words; he was taught their meaning. He also learned to identify colors and shapes and how to count up to 6 objects. He.was beginning to learn to read letter sounds, prior to his unexpected death in 2007.

Like Arielle, Alex was able to put words together to express new thoughts. One day, for example, he saw a banana and wanted some of it, but he didn't know the word for banana. His solution was to say, "Alex want yellow food."

Alex truly had a lot of personality, and he knew what he wanted! Sometimes Alex would get tired or bored and begin making mischief (purposely giving the wrong answers). If Dr. Pepperberg got annoyed at Alex, Alex would say, "I'm sorry" and would usually then cooperate. When he got tired of working, he'd say, "Wanna go back" (to his cage). Sometimes he'd request to be taken somewhere else. If he was taken there, he'd rest quietly. If he was taken somewhere else instead, he'd protest! He also would request specific foods, and be agitated if he was given a different food instead, possibly even throwing it at the researcher before repeating his original request!

African Grey Parrot

Photo by L.Miguel Bugallo Sánche

© 2012 Janiece Tobey. All rights reserved.
Page last updated 5/29/12.