label she christened me: Abba. After a Talking with :A Ten ... Year Perspective short adjustment to her new home, Michael Dalton, Clearwater, Florida Arielle started using other words that I hadn't attempted to teach her (Dalton couple of years ago I dedicated to my macaw, rather I infer that many 1993). Within a couple of months I felt my life to communicating with a pet birds have comparable abilities - unsettled by her ability to communicate A and to better under­ unfortunately, many owners are inatten­ through sporadic, unexpected, English stand her behavior. My wife claims that I tive to or unaware of their bird's talents. statements which the bird appeared to am bizarre. "You're obsessed with your This is one reason, after ten years, to relish - one could tell by her exuberance bird," my brother said during a recent tele­ take stock of what Arielle has achieved and the twinkle of excitement in her eyes phone conversation. Passion and dedica­ and to prepare documentation. that she enjoyed my bewilderment tion makes me bizarrely obsessed or, if She is not a trained animal in any caused by her unexpected speech. one prefers, obsessively bizarre. conventional sense, as she does not often As a businessman, I was able to take Preliminary efforts at interspecies speak before strangers; however, she my pets to work with me. To the enchant­ began years ago using enjoys yakking by herself and periodical­ ment of customers, my birds visited at the apes as study subjects, because humans ly demonstrates her mastery of English electronics business over intervals for sev­ are infatuated with primates with whom while talking to me. It has taken several eral years. While at the store, Arielle made we share characterists. After many years to grasp the extent of Arielle's abil­ a couple of her early unanticipated state­ efforts, the studies of simians using ity to use words; the delay was caused by ments. At the end of one day, she watched human language have proven disap­ Arielle's handicap of dwelling with a as a coworker and I loaded my utility pointing. There are also studies demon­ slow learning human. vehicle in preparation for returning home; strating the ability of aquatic mammals My fascination with pet birds she astonished us by saying "truck" as we to communicate with humans. It is originated with a Budgie when I was a re-entered to close the store. In evaluating interesting that little research has child. When my own children left the situation, we workers decided that picked an obvious animal. home, my wife and I filled our "empty Arielle had communicated her desire to A kindergartner asked to name a nest" with an African Grey chick go home in the vehicle. speaking animal will likely smile and that we named Louie. Several months Since I didn't originally intend to say: "A parrot!" It is surprising that sci­ later, unidentified forces compelled me study Arielle's speech, I've been "catch­ entists did not begin by investigating to purchased Arielle, a ten-month-old ing-up" by reading the findings of other birds, because indications over centuries Blue & Gold macaw, due in part to our investigators. There are several books suggest that jays, crows (Savage 1995), developing mutual affection. A beguil­ about the use oflanguage by primates but magpIes, ravens (Hurlbutt 1981), ing thought is that Arielle selected me there are only a couple of books about mynahs, and many species of parrot-like to live with from many people she word use by birds. Most investigators birds can learn speech. encountered at the pet store. seem reluctant to answer direct questions Information from scientific litera­ Did the macaw come to live about their studies because, perhaps, I am ture has generally done little to inspire with me as a happy accident, or does not affiliated with an institution. pet bird owners to improve the lives of she reside at my home because of some All inquiry of language by avian their birds, to determine more about symbiotic relationship destined by cos­ subjects leads to Irene Pepperberg, and their birds, or to try to cultivate the lan­ mic force? For example, I credit Arielle she deserves much credit for her studies guage abilities of companion birds. I with helping me to recover from a to increase the knowledge of the abili­ hope to change that situation. chronic back injury. She sparked my ties of birds (Pepperberg 1983, 1990). My macaw and I accumulated recovery by forcing me to take her out­ Her African Grey parrot, "," is a experiences using speech and unknow­ side daily for a walk. Strangers observ­ research subject who is taught vocabu­ ingly substantiated several findings ing us sometimes comment upon our lary to answer questions for tests reported in scientific literature. During closeness which they judge to be designed to reveal specific information adventures we discovered new infor­ remarkable. Arielle has become a cher­ about the parrot's mental abilities. Alex mation about parrot abilities too ished companion, and I am committed demonstrates his comprehension by (described below). to teaching her and to caring for her. In using about two hundred words. Can birds really understand fact, she has given much more to me Despite Pepperberg's notable research English? My macaw seems to under­ than I have provided for her. with Alex, there are few investigations stand and appropriately use human lan­ Her first creative vocal activity was by others and a scarcity of data con­ guage; this revelation has profound to name me after a few short weeks of cerning communicating with birds. implication for owners of parrot-like residing within our home; it is unlikely Only a few reports in hobbyist birds. I do not ascribe special abilities that she heard elsewhere the inventive books document some of the unique, 14 First Quarter 2003 free will, statements made with appar­ ent understanding by "talking" birds (de Grahl 1987). However, I could not Commercial Member find any research conducted independ­ Veteri narians ently from universities. The logic behind this condition is something of a Arizona Massachusetts mystery; surely, many people living North Central Animal Hospital William C Sager, DVM Hillary Frank, DVM Littleton (978) 263-3535 with pets are capable of contributing to Phoenix (602) 395-9773 our knowledge about animals. Missouri Len Howard is my icon as an inde­ Palo Verde Animal Hospital Bird Medicine and Surgery pendent investigator of birds; some 20 Ross E Babcock, DVM David Kersting, DVM Phoenix (602) 944-9661 Chesterfield years before more recent studies were conceived, Howard analyzed wild bird California New Jersey behavior and taught wild birds at her Animal & Bird Hospital Ridgewood Veterinary Hospital home in England. A musicologist by Dr Robert Stonebreaker Dean J. Cerf DVM training, Howard observed bird behavior Del Mar (858) 755-9351 Ridgewood and bird song in the field; she also Sunset Cliffs Animal Clinic trained wild birds to count and respond Christy Berg, DVM & Ed Acosta, DVM Animal Medical Center to human speech (Howard 1953, 1956). San Diego Laura L Wade DVM The evidence of bird abilities by NYC (212) 329-8714 Howard has inspired me to organize my The Animal Hospital & Bird Clinic Daphne Hill DVM Northside Animal Hospital long-term descriptive notes of events Fresno (559) 227-5575 Mark Salemi DVM during which Arielle, my macaw, spoke. Staten Island (718)981-4445 Tape recording is a method to demon­ Wilshire Animal Hospital strate the language capabilities of a shy Santa Monica Dr Frank Scandaglia, bird; my recordings are evidence for my Dr Frank Lavac Staten Island (310)828-4587 assertions and a resource for study. Ohio In training nonhuman animals to Delaware Avian Health Clinic communicate, most are subjected to Windcrest Animal Hospital Ram Mohan, DVM hundreds or thousands of instructional Dr Morgan Dawkins Reynoldsburg (614) 755-2273 repetitions of words. These sessions Wilmington Metropet Animal Hospital promote mastery of words, and lessons Florida Linda Wiley DVM extend over a period from months to Animal Clinic of Lady Lake Berea (440) 826-1520 years. In fairness to other researchers, Dr Tina B. Merritt, DVM who dedicate many hours to train crea­ Lady Lake (352) 753-5333 Pennsylvania East York Vet Center tures to perform exacting tasks, my Eastside Veterinary Hospital Inc Dr Valerie Miller, DVM inquiries look into speech of a different William Geiler, VMD York character from previous studies. Clermont (352) 394-6624 My approach differs markedly Rhode Island from academic and professional animal Last Chance Farm, Inc Atwood Animal Hospital Bern M Levine, DVM Julie Pelto DVM trainers. Arielle is studied as an "intel­ Miami (305) 595-1674 Cranston (401 )942-7360 lectual sponge" capable of naturally absorbing a variety of information. As a Illinois Texas result she has become educated, and Chicago Exotics Carol-Lynne Meissner, DVM she has learned to use language in star­ Susan Horton, DVM Austin (512) 476-4938 Skokie tling ways. Related in concept, years Jan Raines, DVM ago pet bird owners told me that their Maryland Dallas (214) 221-4394 birds learned words or sentences after a Pulaski Veterinarian Clinic single hearing, but nobody had evi­ William Boyd, DVM DEPPL, ABVP Virginia dence supporting recollections. Baltimore Potomac Valley Veterinary Hospital Rose Ann M Fiskett VMD Imagine my amazement as I lis­ Fairfax (703) 425-7387 tened to a recording and discovered that Arielle exhibited that very attribute. She said a unique phrase that she had heard the afa WATCHBIRD 15 only once several weeks earlier. This with a cassette recorder documents the ber of parrot owners, but few institu­ newly documented ability may have macaw's words. The results from the tions researching parrot speech. been latent, or the characteristic may tapes are a revelation, as I discovered that Because birds can communicate, they simply have been obscured while living she often speaks softly, and, unaided, I represent an exceptional subject for with Arielle. Fortuitous discoveries often had previously heard only a fraction of exammmg information processing result from looking for something differ­ her statements through the glass. Other within an animal mind. If other parrots, ent, so it was with this finding. observers have noted soft speech in the like Arielle, comprehend words beyond In observing Arielle's behavior, I utterances of wild birds including crows. the obvious ones, then such birds repre­ noticed that her play periodically {http://www.crows.net } sent an extensive untapped, underval­ induced comments. The perception that From time-to-time, Arielle speaks ued, source of information. What an environmental factors can motivate with various irregularities which include: opportunity for parrot owners-to be speech was confirmed by a rare obser­ pace, pitch, inflection, and other defects. able to look into a bird's mind through vation during which she organized a Her distorted statements result from the window of voluntary speech! task using English. The quest is to ana­ either a physical limitation or because I I don't comprehend the fine points lyze, in a wide variety of circum­ never correct her pronunciation. of macawese; but Arielle, in partnership stances, whether one parrot under­ Determining the meaning for some of with me, seems to have developed an stands her declarations. So far, she has­ her utterances can be challenging, and, as understanding for much of my language. n't said anything irrational. Rather than needed, I expend great effort to resolve In the end, we humans may have to view using task training, my investigations what she communicates. birds as the other land-based creatures concentrate on her voluntary word use. Because I control recording of with natural linguistic abilities. The Additional findings from my Arielle manually, her taped statements author may be contacted at: investigations include: birds can learn to represent a small portion of her vocal out­ [email protected] understand the general meaning for their put. When Arielle vocalizes, she does not References and Sources words. Like a child, Arielle sometimes speak her lexicon of words from A to Z. Dalton, Michael. (1993) Adventures With A Blue speaks and, of her own volition, modifies Of her own volition, she speaks words, And Gold Macaw. American Cage-Bird Magazine, November 1993. the meaning for a word; an example is phrases, and sentences; these expressions de Grahl, Wolfgang. (1987) The Grey Parrot. Neptune "cracker" which she uses to mean food. cover a wide range of topics, ideas, and City, N.J.: T.F.H. Publications, Inc. The correlation between pertinent events statements that she has heard, modified, or Gould, James L., and Gould, Carol Grant. (1994) The Animal Mind. and her spoken words infers that she has fabricated. On occasion she composes New York: Scientific American Library. (One sub­ a fundamental understanding of her original monologues or dialogues. As I ject is "Washoe. ") Howard, Len. (1953) Birds as Individuals. London: statements. It is possible for a macaw to learn more about her proficiency with lan­ Readers Union. relate, through words, perceptions of her guage, more questions emerge concerning Howard, Len. (1956) Living With Birds. London: environment including intangible con­ her abilities and concerning the implica­ Collins. (One subject is "Star. ") Hurlbutt, Catherine. (1981) Adventures with Talking cepts such as temperature; parrot-like tions of her . Birds. Neptune, N.J.: TFH birds also can state their recognition for Over a period of ten years, Publications.(The subjects include "Edgar. ") Patterson, Francine and Linden, Eugene. (1981) The complexities such as picture representa­ Arielle's list of statements number Education of Koko. "lew York: Holy, tions for objects. In addition, I find thousands of variations of words, Rinehart and Winston. (The subject is Arielle's practice sessions to be peppered phrases, and sentences. "Koko.") Pepperberg, PhD, Irene. (1983) Cognition in the with revealing sequences, primitive Arielle speaks both single words Afiican Grey parrot: Preliminary evidence rhymes, and even a subtle humorous and sentences that occur spontaneously - for auditory/vocal comprehension of the class concept. Pschonomic Society, Inc .. repartee-reflecting her playful nature. potentially revealing information about Animal Learning & Behavior II (2) pp. Skeptics will challenge my experi­ her thoughts. Only a small portion of her 179-185. (The subject is "Alex.") ences as undocumented. The saving vocalizing rises to direct communication, Pepperberg, PhD, Irene. (1990) Referential map­ ping:: A technique for attaching func­ grace is that I scribbled dated notations the highest level of bird speech, that I tional significance to the innovative about almost all of the events in which term "talking." This activity usually utterances of an African Grey parrot. Applied Psycholinguistics II my birds participated. There are hun­ occurs when we go for our daily walk; Cambridge: Cambridge University dreds of written reports made over ten some days Arielle initiates communica­ Press, pp. 23-44. (The subject is "Alex. ") years concerning Arielle's use of lan­ tion, for example, by saying "fruit" to Premack, David; and Premack, Ann James. (1983) The Mind of an Ape. New York: w.w. Norton guage. Originally I could hear only a por­ direct my attention toward ripening cit­ & Company. (The subject is "Sarah. ") tion of her speech through the sliding rus. She can ask questions too. Savage, Candace. Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays. San glass doors that permit observation of her "We pet owners can have a pro­ Fransisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995. (One isolated activities. Recently, I started to found role in understanding the abilities subject is a wild bird, another "Macaw.") tape record Arielle's vocal practice ses­ of parrot-like birds," I thought recently. Savage-Rumbaugh. Sue; and Lewin, Roger. (1994) Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink ofthe Human sions; an outside microphone combined The reason is that there are a great num- Mind. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v 16 First Quarter 2003