Lexicon size and its relation to foot preference in the African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus)

Abstract

To study footedness in parrots, an international survey of parrot owners was conducted. Responses were obtained from 524 individuals, including 70 owners of African Grey parrots (all animals ≤ 10 months old). All respondents were given a 10-item questionnaire and a standard method for testing foot preference in their pets, and they were asked to count the number of separate words in their pets' lexicons of human speech sounds. Right-footed African Greys (N = 36) had significantly larger lexicons than left-footed African Greys (N = 34; P = 0.01). This difference could not be accounted for by group differences in training efforts or socialization/housing with conspecifics. A non-significant trend in the same direction was found in a comparison sample of Amazon parrots, although these genera are less adept than African Greys at learning human speech sounds. Other investigators have provided convincing evidence of lateralization, in the avian brain, for the analysis and memory of differing types of stimuli. In addition, there appears to be preferential left hypserstriatal activation for long-term memory consolidation. Our results suggest a relationship between lateral asymmetry for motor preference and asymmetric CNS mediation of a 'higher cognitive' function (i.e. the categorization and long-term mnestic processing of human speech sounds).