There is an interesting article in Science on the development of
communication skills amongst parrots -
Why Do Parrots Talk? Venezuelan Site Offers Clues
Virginia Morell
Science 22 July 2011: Vol. 333 no. 6041 pp. 398-400
The world's longest-running study of wild parrots is entering its 24th
year, making it the parrot equivalent of Jane Goodall's long-term
study of chimpanzees in Tanzania and Cynthia Moss's elephant project
in Kenya. And just as those studies tracking individual animals
changed our understanding of chimpanzees and elephants, this one is
opening new windows into the minds and behaviors of parrots.
Researchers have discovered details of the parrotlets' ecology and
life histories, and the project has now entered a new phase focusing
on their communicative skills. Last week, researchers reported that
the contact calls of wild parrotlet nestlings—vocalizations that
function much like a name—are not genetically programmed. Instead,
they learn these calls from their parents, almost like human children
learning their names. It is the first study to provide experimental
evidence for learned vocalizations in wild parrots.
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
