'Companion Parrots:' local college professor publishes research on parrot vocal mimicry
CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — It's common knowledge that parrots are great at mimicking human communication and everyday sounds.
But a new study published by a local college professor in Cambria County is looking beyond what 'Polly' says.
Dr. Christine Dahlin is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown who studies animal behavior.
Her house is also home to Yoko, a 22-year-old energetic male cockatoo who loves to repeat new words and phrases.
"Parrots are one of the few groups of animals that have life-long vocal learning, which Yoko is showing everybody right now. They can learn new vocalizations throughout the course of their lives," Dr. Dahlin told 6 News.
Yoko, perched on Dr. Dahlin's shoulder during her interview with 6 News, was very vocal and animated throughout.
"The problem with studying this in wild animals -- and especially wild parrots -- is that they're really challenging to study in the wild."
She turned to a Google survey, and sent it to those who have "companion parrots" as pets to learn more about the communication of wild parrots.
One of the main reasons we wanted to study this is just to get a greater understanding about how vocal learning is similar and different among the parrots, because that's something we never had a good understanding of," she told 6 News.Dr. Dahlin, alongside a professor from the University of Northern Colorado, collected data from nearly 900 parrots including 73 different species.
They found that some species of parrots mimic better than others, while males and females are equally good at mimicking.
The research also found that not only do parrots know what to say, but also when to say it.
"This morning, when I had to put Yoko away, and I was moving to put him in his cage, he said, 'goodbye.' When I'm going to put him away for bed at night, he'll say, 'goodnight Yoko bird,'" Dr. Dahlin said.
Dr. Dahlin published her research this week titled "A Survey of Vocal Mimicry in Companion Parrots."
"We can actually learn how and why language evolved by studying this kind of ability in other groups of animals," she told 6 News.
Dr. Dahlin encourages those interested in adopting a parrot to get one from a rescue organization and to get ready for a lifetime of commitment.
"It's really like owning a small child that never grows up."
Click here to view the "A Survey of Vocal Mimicry in Companion Parrots" research project.
Click here to view the Parrot Vocal Survey.
ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfmLyuvMCnoKimXaWus77OrapmpJ%2BYrq15wqijpZ2Xmnqxvs6fnKyrn6d6scHBpaCsoJWoerOx0p6Yq5uYYryvec%2BaqaunpGLDsK%2FApWSmoZ2esLPF