Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus)
نویسنده
چکیده
How do we measure avian ‘intelligence’ and communicative capacities? Two decades of study on Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) provide more questions than answers. What is intelligence? Can we evaluate nonhumans using human tasks and definitions? Or fairly test nonhuman sensory systems? How do nonmammalian brains process information? Do avian and mammalian cognitive capacities significantly overlap? Preliminary answers exist for the first four questions; considerable data relate to the fifth. To summarize current knowledge, I examine concepts of intelligence, review techniques for evaluating parrot cognition, and discuss results and implications.
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