Talking Parrot
February 6, 2005 6:50 AM   Subscribe

The Amazing Einstein This African Grey Parrot was a show stopper on animal Planet's Pet Stars. Lots of other great videos there too
posted by lobstah (15 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Alex has always been one of my favorite parrots. (Previous discussion here.) He's also an African Grey. If they ever evolve thumbs, we're done for.
posted by Drastic at 7:45 AM on February 6, 2005


They are such remarkable animals - not only parrots but birds in general. My grandparents had a budgie that you could have a very limited conversation with. I would love to have a parrot but I worry that it would outlive me. Factoring a parrot into my will is not something I want to try and do.
posted by pookzilla at 7:52 AM on February 6, 2005


i want to take them both home, they are so cute! that parrot definitely was amazing.
posted by freudianslipper at 8:20 AM on February 6, 2005


I recall a silly and terrific terrific Seed article about an African Grey - was it Alex? it was a parrot that did not trust women - and the conclusion contained therein was that, as awesome as its accomplishments were, people don't need to be tapped on the nose for years to learn the word "pen."

At any rate, parrots are great. The only bird I would consider keeping.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:35 AM on February 6, 2005


The talking and mimicking parrot is fun, but I think the tool-making crow (.mov file) is more fascinating.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 8:39 AM on February 6, 2005


Holy CRAP!! And that CROW!!!! I've always liked crows, pretty cool birds to have around (not as pets, I mean just in general). kingfisher..... I think they are both fascinating in their own ways. The crow is definitely very cool.
posted by Eekacat at 9:29 AM on February 6, 2005


Pet Star is kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Some of the things those animals can do are amazing.
posted by SisterHavana at 9:56 AM on February 6, 2005


Crows are very smart...when I was a kid, there was a tame one named "Pepper" that would hang around the schoolyard, flying from shoulder to shoulder ...looking for handouts at lunchtime.
posted by lobstah at 10:21 AM on February 6, 2005


Lots of fun, thanks.
posted by Evstar at 10:24 AM on February 6, 2005


Direct link.

DOWN WITH EMBEDDED VIDEO!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:44 AM on February 6, 2005


More animals should learn how to imitate spaceships with lasers. It would save them from extinction.
posted by Harry at 12:32 PM on February 6, 2005


Crows can learn to mimic human voices. When I was in college, there was a crow that would speak over the Hardee's drive-through intercom and attempt to place an order. It was pretty spooky.
posted by rajbot at 12:51 PM on February 6, 2005


the lyre bird made me fall off the couch when it mimmicked perfectly any and every sound in its environment to attract a mate. other birds, chainsaws, car alarms, and camera shutters.
posted by GleepGlop at 2:08 PM on February 6, 2005


Birds are really amazing to me, too, and I especially love parrots. They are beautiful and alien the way cats are, but at the same time smart and personable the way dogs are* - just very cool creatures. The fact that they seem to have a rather complex brain despite its size is also really interesting on a neurological level. It makes me wonder if we don't misjudge dinosaurs a bit, given that we now think they were more like enormous birds than godzillas...

*not that there aren't smart cats and beautiful dogs too, just stereotyping a bit, don't mind me
posted by mdn at 3:48 PM on February 6, 2005


San Francisco is home to two flocks of feral parrots. Listening to a large flock of parrots chatter and scream is amazing. You can hear them near the Ferry building.

A documentary about the parrots called The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is coming out next week (see also the book). You can get a hint of how loud the wild parrots are by watching the trailer for the movie.
posted by rajbot at 6:46 PM on February 6, 2005


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