Have any of you ever had an African Gray Parrot? It's a really smart bird, capable not only of learning to say words but understanding what they mean. My relatives have one who can tell them when he's hungry, when he's too hot or too cold and when he's scared. They are pretty amazing!
I have expirence with the smaller type birds finches, parokeets, love birds and etc. My daughter has cockatoo, a larger variety, but I am not sure what kind. She is happy with Poncho and says how smart he is.
I've always wanted to have a larger bird, but was worried of the cost and up keep. What are some of the costs involved with the gray parrot?
African gray parrots are pretty expensive birds to keep. For starters, they're a lot bigger than a parakeet or a finch. They approach macaw size. So being that big, they're expensive by themselves. You also need to buy a very large enclosure for them and they eat more than smaller birds do. I'd say those are the major costs. They also need regular veterinary check-ups and the like.
I very much doubt African Gray can understand the words they speak. They are smart for sure, but not that smart. They can be trained to pretending talking with you, but they will not truly understand more than a few words.
We had a thread about a talking African Gray video a while ago. Yes, the bird is amazingly trained.
http://petskeepersguide.com/forums/Threa...rds-videos
With all the animals I have, I don't think I have the space or time for a bird that size. Not to mention the expense. Vet bills alone kill me. Do these birds need a specialized vet? They do sound like amazing birds though.
(08-09-2012, 03:01 PM)Ram Wrote: [ -> ]I very much doubt African Gray can understand the words they speak. They are smart for sure, but not that smart. They can be trained to pretending talking with you, but they will not truly understand more than a few words.
We had a thread about a talking African Gray video a while ago. Yes, the bird is amazingly trained.
http://petskeepersguide.com/forums/Threa...rds-videos
Well, I said it can only express about three things. But it's been proven that these parrots can learn language, not just mimicry but actual understanding, in a laboratory setting. The most educated one on record was able to have simple conversations with the scientist handling it. I read the bird's last conversation before it died and I'd swear it was a small child if I didn't already know it was a bird.
My family has also had an african grey parrot and he was just a pleasure. He likes talking so much that he can talk about anything all day long which is absolutely hilarious to watch. He is truly a great company to have for anyone who loves birds. I always have extra plastic water bottles or plastic toys because he LOVES these kinds the best. I love this parrot to death! haha.
(08-13-2012, 04:14 AM)writer811 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, I said it can only express about three things. But it's been proven that these parrots can learn language, not just mimicry but actual understanding, in a laboratory setting. The most educated one on record was able to have simple conversations with the scientist handling it. I read the bird's last conversation before it died and I'd swear it was a small child if I didn't already know it was a bird.
I think you're talking about Alex the African Grey. Here's an article from Scientific American that was written by Irene Pepperberg, the scientist who worked with Alex:
http://randsco.com/_img/blog/0710/talking_with_alex.pdf
Like her, I believe Alex did in fact understand at least some of what he was saying! She says the difference between a parrot simply mimicking and actually understanding what he or she is saying has to do with how the bird was trained.