Nature Science Update
9th International Behavioral Ecology Congress,
Montreal, Canada, July 2002
Parroting builds social bonds
Birds use mimicry to indicate 'let's get together'.
11 July 2002
JOHN WHITFIELD
Parrots use their powers of mimicry to make friends, researchers have found=
.
Birds copy the calls of those they want to meet.
This might explain why pet parrots are so good at imitating human speech, s=
ays
ornithologist Jack Bradbury, of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. "Mimi=
cry
is very important to them in terms of social affiliation," he told the
International Congress on Behavioral Ecology in Montreal, Canada this week.
Bradbury studies orange-fronted conures (Aratinga canicularis) living in Co=
sta
Rican forest. The birds come together each day into temporary flocks to fee=
d
and roost.
When they meet, some birds make a special call, a 'chee' sound. Every bird'=
s
chee is slightly different. Copying another's seems to mean 'let's get
together'.
Mimicry is a good way to make contact across a crowded bush, says Bradbury.
"It's like setting up a telephone line across a very busy intersection."
Full text
http://www.nature.com/nsu/020708/020708-13.html
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