Like many animals, parrots make sounds that suggest they are talking with each other, maybe even calling out to a specific parrot. But do they truly have names in the same way people do? To find out, Lauryn Benedict, a biology professor at the University of Northern Colorado, didn't set up shop in the tropics to record parrot chatter, as they've done in the past. She instead found birds who spoke her language–birds that live with humans and mimic what they hear, including people's names.
Working with long-time collaborator Christine Dahlin from University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and a team of researchers from Austria, Benedict analyzed vocalizations from more than 880 captive parrots. They heard many of the birds using names in ways that seemed similar to people, to identify individuals. They also found some unusual ways names popped up in the recordings.
Their work was published in the journal PLOS ONE .
