{"id":19304,"date":"2018-01-17T22:08:45","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T22:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=19304"},"modified":"2025-08-14T22:01:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T03:01:52","slug":"inside-pepperbergs-lab-african-grey-griffin-speaks-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-pepperbergs-lab-african-grey-griffin-speaks-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Pepperberg’s Lab: African Grey Griffin Speaks His Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"African
Courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sharing one\u2019s life with a parrot who not only means what he says but also understands human speech has definite advantages. African grey Griffin can tell us when he wants to go back to the cage (\u201cWanna go back\u201d), to sit with us during down-time (\u201cWanna go chair\u201d), or hang out during clean up (\u201cgo s\u2014ink\u201d). He often lets us know when he wants to work by his a request for a treat (\u201cWanna nut\u201d) and is learning to ask for juice, which we are using for additional studies on Piagetian liquid conservation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Griffin occasionally asks for apples or almonds (\u201cbanerry\u201d and \u201ccorknut\u201d\u2014he learned Alex\u2019s terms), sometimes for his cooked \u201cgrain\u201d or other fruits and vegetables. Unlike most parrots, he doesn\u2019t like typical toys so, although he\u2019ll identify various materials and objects, he rarely asks for them. Still, his ability to communicate does make both of our lives easier. He can make his wants and needs known, and we don\u2019t have to guess at his desires.<\/p>\n

Griffin And Referential Communication: The Upside And<\/i> The Downside<\/h3>\n

He understands a lot more, however. We can tell him and he understands that he has to \u201cwait\u201d for us to use hand sanitizer before picking him up, to take off our outdoor shoes to avoid tracking in outside dirt, or for his cooked grains to cool before eating. He doesn\u2019t like to be left alone, and usually protests with squawks or \u201ccome here!\u201d when we start to head out of the lab, but if we say we\u2019ll be \u201cright back\u201d, or \u201cback in an hour\u201d, or even \u201cI\u2019ll see you tomorrow\u201d, he calms down fairly quickly. Sometimes, however, his understanding of human speech causes problems.<\/p>\n

Understanding Words, Not Just “Parroting”<\/h3>\n

Like most companion animals, he really does not like trips to the veterinarian. We can\u2019t blame him\u2014getting poked and prodded and having blood drawn, or occasionally getting a shot, is hardly fun. In fact, he finds just the mention<\/i> of medical care stressful. Griffin has learned the terms \u201cvet\u201d, \u201cveterinarian\u201d, and even her name (\u201cMarge\u201d); he\u2019s also learned a bit of spelling, so we can\u2019t use \u201cv-e-t\u201d, even if we are talking about an appointment in the future: He begins to shake and will likely chew off some feathers overnight. We now are very careful to speak about \u201cshe who must not be named\u201d\u2026the phrase seems long enough that he can\u2019t make the association!<\/p>\n

We also learned recently that he understands more about numbers than we thought. For many years, he\u2019s been able to identify shapes, using \u201cone-, two-, three-, four-, six- and eight-corner\u201d (a seven-sided object is kind of weird, so we never use it, and for some reason\u2014probably the difficult consonant structure\u2014he refuses to say \u201cfive\u201d). He can also identify numbers of \u201cclicks\u201d, and sometimes practices on his own, clicking and then reporting on the number of clicks he\u2019s produced. We\u2019ve used this understanding to let him know when we\u2019ll be back if we are gone longer than overnight. So, on Friday evenings, I\u2019ll usually say something like \u201cI\u2019ll be gone for two<\/i> days; I\u2019ll be back on day three<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0 He seems to understand. In December, I had a long trip to Europe, and I told him I\u2019d be back on \u201cthe eighth<\/i> day.\u201d I wasn\u2019t really sure he could associate that many days with the actual number label but figured that he knew that \u201ceight\u201d referred to a large amount and that he\u2019d understand that I\u2019d be gone awhile. Well, he definitely understood more than I expected!<\/p>\n

My flight home from Amsterdam was horribly delayed (we even had to layover in Canada to refuel!), I missed my scheduled connection in Philadelphia, and by the time I got home and got to bed, after being up for most of 27 hours (naps on planes don\u2019t really count!), there was no way I was getting up early the next morning to go into lab. I texted my lab manager and students, made sure that the birds would have adequate care, and tried to catch up on sleep.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t totally surprised when I got the \u201ccold wing\u201d upon my eventual entrance a day late\u2014Griffin often does that when I\u2019ve been away for any length of time. I was, however, taken aback when the students told me that he had been completely, totally, <\/i>uncooperative the day that I was supposed to have returned: that he wouldn\u2019t come out of his cage, that he bit a student who tried to get him out (one of his favorite students, no less), and just glared at everyone all day! See a picture.<\/p>\n

He clearly had connected the label \u201ceight\u201d and a specific<\/i> number of days. He expected me to arrive, I wasn\u2019t there, and he knew something was amiss. Remember, in the wild, if a flock member doesn\u2019t return when he or she should, such an absence usually means the bird has been eaten by a predator or has permanently left for another flock. I suppose I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised, given all that I know about parrot intelligence, but … I guess I\u2019ll have to try out something else the next time I travel!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 Dr. Pepperberg and her research assistants, such as when he wants to go back to the cage (“Wanna go back”) or sit with them (“Wanna go chair”). But this command of words also creates some interesting dilemmas on how to talk in front of a parrot that understands what you are saying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":19305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday","bird-type-african-grey"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInside Pepperberg's Lab: African Grey Griffin Speaks His Mind – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As companion animals, parrots are unique in that they can use human language to verbally communicate with us. 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