PARROTS MAKE BIRD-TO-BIRD VIDEO CALLS
Countless people around the world love making video calls — dialing up loved ones, seeing their faces, and hearing their news. And according to a new study from Northeastern University, in collaboration with researchers from MIT and the University of Glasgow, parrots like making video calls, too.
“There are 20 million parrots living in people’s homes in the USA, and we wanted to explore whether those birds might benefit from video calling,” Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, a researcher at the University of Glasgow and the study’s co-author, explained.
“If we gave them the opportunity to call other parrots, would they choose to do so, and would the experience benefit the parrots and their owners?”
The answer is a resounding yes.
Eighteen parrots and their owners were enrolled in the study. The birds were trained to request a video call by ringing a bell, after which their owner would offer them a choice of other parrots available to be called. Before long, the parrots started to clamor for screen time with their new friends.
During 147 calls, which resulted in more than 1,000 hours of recorded video, the parrots would sing together, learn new skills from each other, and even attempt to groom each other through the screen.
“We had birds who would sleep next to each other,” Hirskyj-Douglas said. “Sometimes, they would leave the video call briefly to go get something to show the other bird.”
In one case, two sickly and elderly macaws grew especially close. Despite having never spent time with others of their species, they quickly bonded. They danced and sang happily when they saw one another. And if one bird moved out of the frame, the other would call: “Hi! Come here! Hello!”
“It really speaks to how smart these birds are and how much ability they have to express themselves,” Hirskyj-Douglas said. “It was really beautiful, those two birds.”
Not only did many of the birds develop favorite friends and pick up skills like flying and foraging for snacks, but they also seemed to be much happier. The study’s avian participants appeared calmer and more confident. Some owners felt as if their birds had transformed.
“Some of the owners would say that their birds came to life through these calls,” Jennifer Cunha, one of the study’s co-authors, remarked.
That said, the study’s authors do not suggest grabbing the nearest iPad and setting up calls between your parrot and others. The humans in their study were experienced bird owners who introduced the technology slowly, and the parrots were particular about whom they chose to communicate with. Unsupervised interactions could lead to the parrots feeling fear, which could, in turn, lead to a bird’s shattering an iPad screen.
Nevertheless, the study does underline the importance of social connection for birds. Parrots are highly intelligent and sociable creatures who live in flocks in the wild. But they often lack this sense of community as pets.
“Over 20 million parrots are kept as pets in the US, often lacking appropriate stimuli to meet their high social, intelligence, and emotional needs,” the study’s authors noted.
Distressed birds suffering from isolation and boredom can develop psychological problems. They might pace, pluck their feathers, or rock back and forth. The video calls clearly showed that birds can benefit from social interaction (even when it is virtual).
“Now we know that, if given access to Skype, they will use it,” Hirskyj-Douglas said. “And they use it in very individual and very beautiful ways.”
Indeed, the study seems to have formed long-term friendships between some of its participants. At least two birds who learned to video call—a cockatoo named Ellie and an African gray parrot named Cookie—have continued to stay in touch.
“It has been over a year,” Cunha said, “and they still talk.”
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