Polly Want An IQ Test?

Birds Understand More Than We Assume

By Steve Dale

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In the Three Stooges, Moe admonished Curly, "You're a numskull, a birdbrain!" Turns out, being a birdbrain isn't so bad.

Pretty much everything scientists understand about parrot intelligence began with Irene Pepperberg's research at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Cambridge and the University of Arizona, Tucson with an African gray parrot named Alex.

Pepperberg concludes that parrots have the learning potential of a four to six-year-old child. Her research has confirmed what some parrot owners have known for years: these birds aren't just "parroting" or mimicking human voice, they actually understand what they're saying.

Pepperberg says the African gray parrots she's worked with can be offered a tray with materials of varying colors, shapes and textures. She can request the green, three-cornered wooden block, and the bird will ignore the blue and red objects, the balls or four-cornered objects or the objects that aren't wooden, and consistently make the correct responses.

"The challenge is having such an incredibly intelligent animal in your home as a pet," she says. Pepperberg won't be coaxed into calling birds any more or less intelligent than dogs or cats, because intelligence is so difficult for scientists to define. However, it's likely that in at least some ways birds equal and perhaps exceed in brainpower over Fido and Fluffy.

"The real difference is that dogs and cats have been bred to be our companions for generations," she says. "Parrots are only a generation or two from the wild. And dogs and cats are mammals; they're more like us–so we inherently understand them better."

Pepperberg says many people romanticize about what it would be like to have a pet parrot, but they wind up not being able to fulfill the bird's needs.

Sam Foster, Tampa, Fl based avian behaviorist, adds, "What these birds need is for us to best replicate all the interesting things they would do in the wild. The problem is that their flock disappears all day – we go to work, and the kids go to school. Parrots are not independent. They're instinctively wired to be with their flock."

Sally Blanchard of Alameda, CA is a pioneer in the field of bird behavior. She's also the publisher of "The Companion Parrot Quarterly." She says, "Without mental stimulation, brain cells actually begin to die. These parrots can become clinically depressed."

Birds that are emotionally distraught begin to exhibit behaviors such as obsessive feather picking or aggression. "It's true that in people and dogs and cats, our mental health reflects in our physical health," says Dr. Peter Sakas, a Niles, IL based avian veterinarian. "But I believe this is even more true in parrots, they're very emotional, clearly thinking and feeling creatures. An unhappy bird is likely to become an unhealthy bird."

Most people aren't going to quit their jobs to stay home with their pet bird. Instead, there are ways you can provide activities to keep the bird engaged when you're not at home.

St. Charles, IL avian behaviorist Chris Davis points out birds are more attuned visually than dogs and cats (that sense the world primarily with their noses), and many actually enjoy watching TV. "We don't know exactly what they see – but I personally believe they can easily understand what's going on as well as any four to six-year-old child. And I think the clarity of flat screen TV's and DVD's makes it even easier."

Her birds enjoy watching old musicals on DVD. Their favorites are "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and the original "Dr Doolittle." Their favorite character is the macaw named Polynesia. Davis says she knows what the birds like because they tell her. They generally like wildlife shows, but shriek in terror if they see a predator of birds. "You bet they understand, and it's horrifying to them. Never leave on this kind of program for birds."

Davis says her birds are utterly bored when they watch her own bird training videos. "Well, they've seen it all before," she says with a laugh.

Blanchard says, being prey animals, parrots tend to be wary in the first place. Because of the way commercial facilities raise birds today, chicks aren't socialized or exposed to new objects and new things from a young age. As a result, when they're placed in homes, they're actually afraid of new toys and/or they just plain don't know how to play.

"Yet," Sakas notes, "it's imperative for their own mental well-being that they learn how to keep themselves occupied."

Davis suggests taking the time to tell your bird how to play and even demonstrate. The good news is that birds seem to understand a lot more than we assume.

In arguably the fastest growing segment of the pet toy sector, new and innovative bird toys are hitting pet stores, bird specialty stores, in catalogs and online. Davis explains, "I like toys that promote natural behaviors, that the birds can climb, safely chew on, hang upside-down and just have a scream – literally!"

She recommends buying a portable perch and taking the bird along as you get ready for work in the morning. "Talk to him as you move from room to room. There's nothing like hearing a critique from your bird as you put on make-up. Share little tidbits of your breakfast. Now, return your parrot to the cage as you leave for the office – but each day put a present inside the cage for him to unwrap. Instead of the cage becoming a jail to sit and vegetate in, it becomes a playground."

For example, roll nuts or pasta inside a whole wheat tortilla, smear peanut butter inside a Kong toy for birds (available at pet stores), stuff a walnut inside a toilet tube roll or scatter peas in-the-pod around the cage. Create your own hanging toys – hang a sliced day old bagel or a toilet tube roll with pieces of fruit inside, and the bottom end of the tube turned inward (so the contents don't fall out).

"Teaching birds little tricks is exceedingly important, so all that brain power doesn't go to waste," says Blanchard, whose black-head caique (a kind of smaller parrot) named Spike has been on national TV many times. "When you work together with your bird, it enhances your bond. I also believe that all parrots truly thrive when they learn. And it enhances their physical well being."

Pepperberg says, "There's no doubt in my mind, if people enriched their birds' lives, in particular, when they're not at home – it would save lives. Far fewer birds would have serious behavior problems."

Unfortunately, money to continue Pepperberg's research has dried up. However, her work may be the only way to help us understand what pet birds need. Her work also reflects on helping to save endangered wild parrots. Pepperberg is accepting private contributions: Irene Pepperberg, c/o the Alex Foundation, Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454.

Steve Dale writes a twice weekly newspaper column, syndicated by Tribune Media Services. He's the host of "Pet Central," on WGN Radio (and www.wgnradio.com), and syndicated "Animal Planet Radio" (www.animalplanet.com) and "The Pet News with Steve Dale."

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