Brainy parrot Alex dies at 31

[Akoto]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Alex, the African grey parrot who gained celebrity for his exceptional communication skills, has died at the age of 31, his owner, comparative psychologist Irene Pepperberg, has announced.

Alex was taught more than 100 English words by Pepperberg and could hold a limited conversation using phrases such as "I want X" or "I want to go Y", with the variables referring to appropriate objects or locations.

The bird could also identify 50 objects, seven colors, five shapes and quanties up to six, Pepperberg, who works at Brandeis and Harvard Universities, both near Boston, Massachusetts, said on a website devoted to Alex.

The parrot "showed the emotional equivalent of a two-year-old child and intellectual equivalent of a five-year-old," Pepperberg said.

Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iHCJ7HLtJ4mgfz40tZeZmSyulIqg

[Duer 157099]

1. Wonder what his last words were n/t

[MADem]

4. "You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you". NT

[aquart]

14. No. His keeper said that. He said, "You'll be in tomorrow."

[shenmue]

2. Rest in peace

:cry:

I liked Alex.

[Island Blue]

3. "Alex was taught more than 100 English words ..."

Gee, that's more than Bush** knows. RIP, Alex.

[Auntie Bush]

7. You beat me to it! I was going to say he could carry on a better conversation than bush*.

[LeftishBrit]

28. And his speeches were more original than most Republicans'

[sarge43]

8. He had more intellectual curiosity than Bush*t

The researchers decided to use the color orange as the control color. So, for several years Alex never saw that color. When they first showed it to him, he looked at it for a long time, then said, "What color?"

RIP Alex and thanks.

[fujiyama]

12. Imagine asking Bush,"I want to go to...?"

WAR!

[xchrom]

5. for Alex

Dear God, protect and bless all beings that breathe, keep all evil from them, and let them sleep in peace. Amen.
--Albert Schweitzer, "Memoirs of Childhood and Youth"


Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.
--Franciscan prayer


Eternal Spirit, we bring you our grief in the loss of Alex and ask for courage to bear it. We bring you our thanks for Alex who lived among us and gave us freely of his love. We commit our friend and companion Alex into your loving hands. Give us eyes to see how your love embraces all creatures and every living thing speaks to us of your love. Amen.

[AwareOne]

6. Old Alex is gone

A Parrot in paradise
we hardly knew ye

[Tab]

9. Requisat In Pace

Althought 31 is relatively young for a parrot to pass away - I thought they went for 70 years or so.

[sarge43]

15. Around 50 years for Greys.

The large macaws like Scarletts and Green Wings are the longevity champs. They routinely make it to 70 and 80. A couple have been authenticated at near 100.

[Tab]

32. Well, actually

I heard the original news report, and they said she had him for 30 years. Nothing said he was a baby (?) when she met him. He might have been fairly aged already.

[pitohui]

19. they say that but i wonder if GREYS have been documented to live so long

there are documented cases of amazon and cockatoo species living into their 80s and even 100s that satisfy me, but greys? i am not so sure

in the wild, in africa, there is no hope of the bird achieving the age of 30, heck, they are practically extirpated (by humans) in some places, and in captivity until much more recently than 50 years ago we were not aware of their special diet requirements, esp. for calcium

i'm not saying no african grey has ever lived to be 50, i'm saying i would like to know of some cases, i think i may have heard of one case...but that could have been an exceptional bird

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Well my Tiel is breaking all kinds of records

He is turning 20 this year, and last time the vet took a look at him, he is healthier than me.

Scary, I know

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. Did anyone ever make an effort to understand his language?

Would they be able to learn as many words as Alex did? Could they demonstrate the emotional equivalent of a two-year-old parrot? How about the intellectual equivalent of a five-year-old parrot?

I'll bet not.

Rest in peace, Alex.

[qnr]

11. Bye Alex. You brought smiles and encouragement to many n/t

[BridgeTheGap]

13. He probably could have done better than bush

certainly speaking wise.

[bluerum]

16. Damn. If only the parrot got elected instead of the drunk monkey. eom

[MADem]

17. Geez--this was moved out of LBN, and to me, this is an IMPORTANT story.

I really like Grey Parrots, I have a timneh myself.

This is like the death of a relative to bird types, really.

[pitohui]

18. it wasn't LBN, because alex passed on friday morning, this is tuesday

i agree it's an important story and a loss to science

[MADem]

30. Ahhh.

I didn't realize that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. As the other person pointed out, this story broke on

friday in their website

There were two long threads on GD about Alex... and many of us who share our live with Pisitachines and how intelligent these birds are

[MADem]

31. What a bird, eh? nt

[buzzard]

22. So true for us bird types, my Double Yellow Amazon is a bright bird and I swear he has learned to

use words appropriately. When I first got him he was fairly young and had belonged to an older woman who had passed away, he had a fairly large vocabulary at the time and every night he would say "goodnight I love you" sometimes many times over. I also have a red lored named buzzard and after a few weeks I would hear the Double Yellow saying "goodnight buzzard I love you". It was not something he had ever heard us say and I found it intriguing he added in the name of my other parrot. It is quite obvious that he does not love buzzard and both are jealous of each other but nonetheless he inserted the name in the right place. Over time he also learned pizza was something he wanted and whenever we had it at dinner on one of those rushed nights he would say "want pizza", it only happened after months of him hearing my kids say I want pizza and only when there was actual pizza on the table. It is not something that I let him have much of but sometimes a few bits of crust as a treat. He has also associated lighting candles with Happy Birthday and when we bring out a cake with lit candles he starts singing Happy Birthday to you. I know it is not proof of intelligence but I still think he is at least as developed as *sh.


buzzard

double yellow

[MADem]

29. Great pics!!!

My bird calls everything he wants "treats." And he'll say "Mmmmmm, tastes gooooood!" if he likes something!

[candice]

23. Irene Pepperberg is to be commended for making the decision to study avian intelligence...

...she's a brilliant women who was working on her Ph.D. at Harvard in Chemistry and liked to watch Nova. The studies of animal intelligence at the time did not include much about birds, but Irene had had a parakeet as a child and wanted to know more. She purchased Alex at a pet store. He was one at the time and was picked by the pet store owner at random (she didn't want the most obviously intelligent bird).

I have an African Grey and can attest to his intelligence. He puts words together all of the time, and sometimes they make a lot of sense. He constructs sentences. He definitely understands cause and effect. When I start to open a door, he imitates the sound of the door opening, ditto for windows. He recognizes all of the packages of his favorite foods. He orders the other pets around! I think he is much too smart to be a pet. I am careful what I say around him. Once when a cat was howling as the neighborhood cat walked by (as it did every day at this time), I said, "Hush!!!" very meanly (had a headache and was resting briefly). Then my Grey started up with his sound riff. I realized that I wasn't going to get much peace and quiet and put the pillow over my head. Then I heard my Grey say, "Quiet (cat's name), little fellow" and realized he was much more polite than me (and he recognized which of the two cats was howling).

I don't recommend having one as a pet unless you have lots of time and can give them an enriched environment, healthy food, and vet care (avian vets are expensive). Adopt one that needs a home if you decide to get one after doing all of the necessary research. It is equivalent to adopting a child.

[buzzard]

26. Thank You for this post, I have 2 parrots and they are smart creatures and I do watch what I

say around them for fear of having it put back in my face. They are expensive if given proper care and unlike my children will be around my home much longer, we have an ongoing joke around here about whom will inherit these creatures and where they would prefer to live. At this time both are bonded to me and are very jealous of each other.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

24. 30-odd posts and no Python reference?!?

I'm shocked!

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. There were two in the Friday threads

[Raine]

27. R-I-P Alex nt