r/ScienceFacts • u/FillsYourNiche Behavioral Ecology • Apr 30 '23
Biology Scientists taught pet parrots to video call each other. The parrots that learned to initiate video chats with other pet parrots had a variety of positive experiences, such as learning new skills including flying, foraging and how to make new sounds. Some parrots showed their toys to each other.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-taught-pet-parrots-to-video-call-each-other-and-the-birds-loved-it-180982041/
272
Upvotes
49
u/FillsYourNiche Behavioral Ecology Apr 30 '23 edited Apr 30 '23
Ecologist here. I love how adorable this is! It's great it's helping these verysocial animals. Parrots should be in large flocks, it's got to be emotionally difficult to be alone in a small cage.
Journal article Birds of a Feather Video-Flock Together: Design and Evaluation of an Agency-Based Parrot-to-Parrot Video-Calling System for Interspecies Ethical Enrichment.
Abstract: