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Talking Parrot, perfect english

Written by jonixkonios on

Talking animals have long charmed the reading public. From “The Bremen Town Musicians” of the Brothers Grimm to the Dr. Doolittle series by Hugh Lofting, stories about creatures who communicate with humans are beloved. But these were fantasies. Alex, an African Gray parrot, was real. And he seemed to understand the English language and concepts far more sophisticated than expected. That’s what makes his death at 31 such a loss.

Alex, an acronym for the Avian Learning Experiment, was the prodigy of Brandeis University scientist and professor Irene Pepperberg. The Harvard-trained chemist bought him in a pet store after being inspired to switch fields and study avian brains.

Alex learned to identify 50 objects, seven colors, five shapes and quantities up to six. That he could talk is not unusual. Parrots are known for their conversational skills. Before Alex, though, they were viewed as clever mimics.

But Dr. Pepperberg and Alex proved the “bird brain” theory wrong. Alex, according to Brandeis, “revolutionized the notion of how birds think and communicate.” He could say what he wanted and where he wanted to go. He knew the concepts of bigger, smaller, same, different and absence. His prowess earned him lots of publicity and several public TV gigs.

But his life wasn’t about celebrity. His work was important. Knowledge gleaned from experiments with Alex have been applied to therapies for children with learning disabilities. Happily, the work will go on with other African Grays in Dr. Pepperberg’s lab.

Alex’s last words to his mentor were, “You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you.” Who doesn’t want to believe his emotions were as human as his words?

source: courant