Parrots learn to make video calls to chat with other parrots, then develop friendships, Northeastern University researchers say

Pet parrots in a new study led by Northeastern researchers loved using iPads to call fellow birds to chat while forging lasting friendships.

Northeastern Global News
@Wolven do you have a paper citation??
@Wolven that is so wonderful! โ€œTwo sickly, elderly male macaws paired together in the study had scarcely seen another macaw in their lives, yet formed a deep bondโ€”dancing and singing enthusiastically together through the screen.โ€
@Wolven Link to relevant paper by these researchers: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544548โ€ฆ
Birds of a Feather Video-Flock Together: Design and Evaluation of an Agency-Based Parrot-to-Parrot Video-Calling System for Interspecies Ethical Enrichment. | Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

ACM Conferences
@Wolven Iโ€™m not crying youโ€™re crying

@Wolven

๐ŸŽตโ€‹ The Internet is for cats. And parrots. ๐ŸŽถโ€‹

@Wolven I do wonder, though, how did the social media algorithms react? Adverts for crackers?
@Wolven Thanks! The earlier article linked there is fascinating too: https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/04/28/magazine/cockatoo-parrot-reading/
๐Ÿฆœ ๐ŸŽถ ๐Ÿฟ๏ธ ๐Ÿ“ฒ
#AnimalBehavior #cognition #cockatoo #parrot #squirrel #Beethoven #AnimalBehaviour #NortheasternUniversity
She taught her cockatoo to read. That was just the beginning

Discover the story of Ellie, the tech-savvy Goffin's cockatoo that can read words, draw letters, and request music on her tablet.

Northeastern Global News

@Wolven

This is so wonderful!

Coincidence: I just wrote something about humans underestimating animals feelings. We often hear 'We shouldn't anthropomorphise animals' but each time I hear that I cringe. I think it's sheer arrogance to think animals are not capable of having similar feelings. Most are creative and enjoy things they come up with themselves, they can be sad, happy, et cetera. This kind of research really helps โค