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| African Grey Parrot
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Psitticus erithacus erithacus | ||||||||||||||
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| Psittacus erithacus Linnaeus, 1758 |
While comparative judgements of animal intelligence are always very difficult to make objectively, Psittaciformes are generally regarded as being amongst the most intelligent of birds. African Grey Parrots are particularly noted for their cognitive abilities, which are believed to have evolved as a consequence of their history of cooperative feeding on the ground in central Africa.
Irene PepperbergIrene Pepperberg is a scientist, noted for her studies in animal cognition particularly in relation to parrots. Irene Pepperberg is a professor at the University of Arizona, currently ( as of 2003) a visiting fellow at the MIT media lab in Boston, MA.'s research with captive African Greys including AlexAlex is an African grey parrot, whose use of language has been studied intensively over the last 20 years by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg. Alex has a vocabulary of around 100 words, but is exceptional in that he appears to have understanding of wh have shown that these parrots are capable of using human words with their human meanings, at least to some extent. Ambitious claims of language use have also been made for another African Grey, called N'kisi ; in the eyes of most experts in animal cognitionAnimal cognition is the title given to a modern approach to the mental capacities of non-human animals. It has developed out of comparative psychology, but has also been strongly influenced by the approach of ethology and behavioral ecology. Much of what, however, these claims are cast into some doubt by the fact that this bird has also been claimed to exhibit powers of telepathyTelepathy from the Greek , tele "distant", and , patheia "feeling", is the supposed ability to communicate information from one mind to another, and is one form of extra-sensory perception or anomalous cognition. This information is generally reported as.When African Greys are kept as pets they have special needs due to their incredible intelligence. Pet owners often refer to their relationship with them as being "like having a five year old child." They love to play and require intellectually stimulating toys for their mental well-being. They have the fascinating ability to recreate sounds and can learn to imitate as many as 5,000 words.
There are two subspecies:
Congo Afrian Greys (CAGs) are larger birds with light grey feathers, deep red tails and black beaks. The other subspecies, Timneh African Greys (TAGs), are smaller in size, have a darker charcoal grey coloring, a darker maroon tail, and a lighter horn colored beak. A few authors recognize a third subspecies, Ghana African Grey (Psittacus erithacus princeps), which is similar to CAG, but darker and slightly smaller.
The history of African Greys kept as pets dates back over 4,000 years. Some Egyptian hieroglyphics clearly depict pet parrots. The ancient GreeksSee The Greeks for the financial term for the set of measures derived from the Black-Scholes option pricing formula, named for the use of the Greek alphabet to denote parameters. Greeks in Ancient History In Latin literature, Graeci (or Greeks in English) also valued parrots as pets, and this custom was later adopted by the Romans. Wealthy Roman families often kept parrots in ornate cages, and parrots were prized for their ability to talk. King Henry VIII of England also had an African Grey parrot. Today, both wild caught and captive bred African Greys are kept as pets.