Hi folks,
Some sad news for people interested in animal behaviour and animal communication in particular. Alex, the African Grey Parrot is Dead.
http://www.alexfoundation.org/
The advantage of working with African Greys is that they are able to pronounce words so clearly. Alex had a vocabulary of 100 words and appeared to understand the meaning. He could also distinguish attributes (shape color and material) quantities (0 to four) more or less. In addition, he had to ask for his food, water, treats, toys, or favors like shower, tickle, scratch.
Here is a short video.
http://www.youtube.com/...
I found the research to be fascinating and it suggested that the cognitive capabilities of many animals was much greater than many of us give them credit. Nietzsche thought that animals were insects, automatons. They are so much more.
Alex, you will be missed. Irene Pepperberg, you have my sympathies.
Charles