Bird Resources

Dr. Irene Pepperberg explores how evolving research on animal cognition is reshaping scientific understanding of consciousness and self-awareness in nonhuman species ...

Bitter wind chills and snow-buried streets turn routine care into a round-the-clock mission to keep grey parrot Griffin warm and safe inside Dr. Pepperberg's cognitive behavior research lab ...

Dr. Irene Pepperberg celebrates her Lifetime Achievement Award by honoring the people and parrots who power her work and transform how science understands animal minds ...

This month's Lafeber Globak Conservation spotlight supports the community-led conservation in Sierra Leone to protect mangrove habitats critical to the survival of the Endangered Timneh parrot ...

Dr. Pepperberg reveals what daily life in her research lab really looks like—and the support that keeps it going ...

Dr. Irene Pepperberg examines the challenges of replicating cognitive studies with parrots and reveals that Griffin isn’t the only African grey capable of outperforming young children on reasoning tasks ...

In Dr. Pepperberg's cognitive behavior research lab, landing the job isn’t just about your résumé; it’s about whether African greys Griffin and Athena think you’re a good fit ...

Dr. Irene Pepperberg shares a lighthearted moment from her parrot research, when African grey Griffin's juice choice leads to an "Aha!" realization that shows his cleverness ...

This month's Lafeber Parrot Conservation Spotlight sheds a light on the World Parrot Trust’s Mobile Vet Unit, which delivers vital care, training, and support across Africa to combat trafficking and safeguard endangered African grey parrots ...

Inspired by her student who decided to see what happened when reading to parrots, Dr. Irene Pepperberg explores how reading might stimulate cognition and shares the surprising preferences of African greys Griffin and Athena ...

Ever wondered if parrots really understand what they’re saying? Dr. Irene Pepperberg takes us back to her studies with African grey parrot Alex and his ability to use appropriate labels in appropriate contexts, as well as Griffin and Athena's amusing ...

Dr. Irene Pepperberg's latest blog explores how African grey parrot Griffin cleverly maximized his rewards, prompting a reevaluation of experimental methods in behavioral research ...

In her latest blog, Dr. Irene Pepperberg shares a fascinating finding from her cognitive behavior research lab, where African grey parrot, Griffin, suddenly struggled with a once-mastered task. After months of testing and frustration, the team discovered the surprising culprit ...

In her latest blog, Dr. Irene Pepperberg reflects on the upcoming play "Beyond Words," which dramatizes her remarkable 30-year research relationship with Alex, the infamous African grey parrot who took the world of animal behavior research by storm. Dr. Pepperberg ...

Journey inside the avian vocal tract as Dr. Irene Pepperberg explains how African grey parrots miraculously produce human speech ...

Learn how to care for your aging African grey parrot in this free webinar with parrot expert Lisa Bono, focused on maximizing comfort and quality of life for older greys. Lisa will share insider tips on identifying age-related issues, determining ...

There are many sides to African grey parrots—highly intelligent, capable of being brilliant mimickers, sometimes full of shenanigans...the list goes on and on. In this episode of The Grey Way, Lisa Bono will channel her years of experience living with ...

Join us for a free webinar on August 13 with Lisa Bono, a certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, as she presents Episode 4 of The Grey Way, a Lafeber Pet Birds Webinar Series focusing on Congo ...

Dr. Echols will give us an update on the Grey Parrot Anatomy Project, which aims to create an accurate physical and digital anatomy reference of the African grey parrot ...

Join us this Friday for a free, interactive webinar. Our guest, Lisa Bono, CPBC, owner and operator of The Platinum Parrot and an associate-certified parrot behavior consultant specializing in African grey parrots, will present "The Grey Way: Understanding the African ...

Grey parrots may sometimes be impulsive—think about how often you may have had to give your bird multiple timeouts for the same behavior (like chewing on your sunglasses) in a very short time period. However, my students and I have ...

Devising new ways to test parrots' cognitive skills is the exciting part of Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her staff's work. The challenging part is finding the exact words to sum up a study — and the even more challenging part ...

Process of elimination and inference are two powers of reasoning, and Dr. Pepperberg conducted fascinating tests to determine the existence of inference in African greys ...

Will African grey parrots share food or ask humans for help? The latest experiments at Dr. Pepperberg's lab give some interesting answers! ...

To test a parrot's ability to understand probability, Dr. Irene Pepperberg's cognitive behavior research lab recently presented African grey parrot Griffin with a task similar to what a 6-8 year-old child might be tasked to do — using three of ...

“What’s mine is mine and what’s your is mine.” Does this sum up your feathered friend's antics? Dr. Irene Pepperberg explains not only how this parrot quirk is based on natural behavior, but she also shares how we can use ...

As companion animals, parrots are unique in that they can use human language to verbally communicate with us. Dr. Irene Pepperberg knows first-hand the advantages of working with such communicative subjects. African grey Griffin, for example, can verbalize requests to ...

Inviting a film crew into a research lab devoted to the study of cognitive behavior in parrots involves not only prepping the lab, but the parrots and the filmmakers. Dr. Irene Pepperberg shares her account of having a film crew ...

The inspirations for topics of Dr. Pepperberg's African grey studies come from many different sources, and all add up to fascinating information being revealed ...

After a certain age, children are able to understand conservation of amounts. Can birds also understand that a change in shape might not change the amount? ...

Our youngest bird, Athena, can present some interesting challenges to our research. We sometimes joke that she doesn’t have an “off switch.” ...

Dr. Pepperberg reveals some unconventional, and unsung, activities needed to get data from the African grey parrots in her lab ...

The talkative African grey parrots Dr. Pepperberg works with in her research lab communicate in English, and sometimes they surprise lab staff. See why! ...

With cognitive abilities matching that of a 5-6 year old, African grey parrots can likewise come up with some creative distractions to delay bedtime. This month, Dr. Pepperberg gives us a look back at the bedtime antics of Alex the ...

Research with parrots leads to some unexpected results. Some pleasant, like learning words that weren't trained, and some unpleasant, like acting out ...

Curious to know what an average day is like in Dr. Irene Pepperberg's research lab on the Harvard campus? Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of African greys Griffin and Athena! ...

The story of Nigel, the African grey parrot that returned home speaking Spanish, is a good example of how a microchip can facilitate a happy reunion for lost pet ...

The Grey Parrot Anatomy Project aims to create an accurate physical and digital anatomy reference, including a standardized basis for avian anatomy nomenclature, of the African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus) ...

Parrots can be categorized according to Old World psittacines and New World psittacines. Are your parrots "Team Old World" or "Team New World"? ...

Sharing seems to be less common in our nonhuman primate relatives, and appears to occur only under some fairly specific conditions. But what about creatures that are not primates? Our recent studies suggest that African grey parrots also can engage ...

Can you imagine a parrot perched in the White House? It’s probably happened at some point during our country’s history; after all, some of our past presidents had parrot companions during their presidencies. Here is a list of presidents who ...

Five years after Alex’s passing, he is still sorely missed; by me and, I believe, by Griffin and Arthur, the other African grey parrots in my lab. Days still exist, particularly when I return after a long absence, during which ...