Talking bird

Talking birds are birds that can imitate human speech. Talking birds have varying degrees of intelligence and communication capabilities: some, like the crow, a highly intelligent bird, are only able to mimic a few words and phrases, while some budgerigars have been observed to have a vocabulary of almost two thousand words. The Hill Myna is a commonly kept pet, well known for its talking ability – whilst its relative, the European Starling is also adept at imitating speech. [ [http://www.starlingtalk.com/talkingstarlings.htm Talking Starlings ] ]

Budgerigars

Puck

In 1995 a budgerigar named Puck was credited by Guinness World Records as having the largest vocabulary of any bird, at 1,728 words. [cite book |editor= Claire Folkard (ed.) |title=Guinness World Records 2004 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |isbn=085112-180-2 |pages=p. 54]

African Grey Parrots

The African Grey Parrots are particularly noted for their cognitive abilities. Some of the most notable African Grey Parrots are Alex, Prudle, and N'kisi.

Alex

Alex had a vocabulary of about 100 words, [ [http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Studies-Cognitive-Communicative-Abilities/dp/067400051X Amazon.com: The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots: Books: Irene Maxine Pepperberg ] ] but he was one of the most famous birds because of his cognitive abilities. In 2005, World Science reported that Alex understood the concept of zero. [ [http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/050701_parrotzero1frm.htm Researchers explore whether parrot has concept of zero ] ]

Prudle

Prudle held the Guinness world record for bird with biggest vocabulary for many years with a documented vocabulary of 800 words. [ [http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1840&articleid=2268 African Grey Parrot ] ]

N'kisi

N'kisi is noted for his impressive English usage skills and other abilities. As of January 2004, he had a documented vocabulary of 950 words and shows signs of a sense of humor. N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human language in the animal world. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3430481.stm BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Animal world's communication kings ] ]

Macaws

Arielle

Arielle is a pioneering bird demonstrating that the cliché “Parrots just imitate what they hear” is erroneous. Arielle, a Blue-and-yellow Macaw communicates ideas using a vocabulary of 4000 meaningful expressions. She speaks in several tenses, uses pronouns appropriately, attributes characteristics to animals and objects, and generally uses English correctly—she demonstrates a “Theory of Mind.” A book, based on recordings of her free speech documents many aspects of the macaw’s linguistic abilities. [cite book |Author= Michael Dalton |title=Another Kind of Mind: A Talking Bird Masters English |publisher=Arielle Publishing |isbn=978-0-9799698-0-5 |pages=2007, pp.288]

Hill Mynas

Hill Mynas are renowned for their ability to mimic the human voice. Many have claimed that the Hill Myna is the best talking bird and the best mimic in the world. [ [http://www.mynahbird.com/articles/mynahs/hills/hills.html Hill Mynahs ] ]

Crows

Crows have long been considered to be highly intelligent, and top a bird IQ scale. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sci/tech/4286965.stm BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Crows and jays top bird IQ scale ] ]

ee also

* Lyrebird, ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment

References

Further reading

* Smith, Fran; "Friendly Feathers: Life with Pierre, an African Grey Parrot" ISBN 978-0-615-22232-5

External links

* [http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/packsViewSingle.php?id=2163 Recordings] of an African Grey parrot talking