Some Cognitive Capacities of an African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus)

Abstract

This chapter discusses the data collected during more than a decade of research, that provide direct comparisons between mammalian cognitive abilities and those of an African Grey parrot. The study of complex cognitive abilities in animals is often built upon two premises. First, there is usually some evidence upon which to base the hypothesis that the subjects of the study might indeed possess the abilities that are to be tested; second, the experimenter is assumed to have a viable paradigm with which the testing can be performed. Grey parrots had been shown to be capable of learning the kinds of symbolic tasks that most researchers agree are important prerequisites or co-requisites for complex cognitive and communicative skills. These findings suggest that a Grey would be a good choice for studies of more complex abilities-tasks that might, for example, involve capacities for categorization, relational concepts, and quantification. © 1990, Academic Press Inc. All rights reserved.