Pet Birds

Dr. Irene Pepperberg once again put African grey parrot Griffin to the test in her cognitive behavior research lab. This time around, he was pushed beyond the concept of “inference by exclusion” (inferring where something can be found after being given information about where it is absent) to the trickier concept of mutual exclusivity (ME). Would Griffin understand that an object could, for example, be both “green” and “wool,” or “blue” and “wood?” See if Griffin was able to take his training to the level of his predecessor, Alex the African , and beyond.

How long a pet parrot lives depends not only on his or her species, but also on nutrition and exercise. And what’s old for some isn’t for others.

The African grey parrots that Dr. Irene Pepperberg works with sometimes do the opposite of what’s wanted or make their feelings known in other ways that can mess with researchers’ heads!

You haven’t fallen for any of these four common myths about budgies, cockatiels, and lovebirds, have you?

What to feed a companion bird is one of the most important questions people face. Do you know what is safe or unsafe, healthy or unhealthy for your bird?