{"id":36646,"date":"2023-04-20T16:49:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T21:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=36646"},"modified":"2025-10-22T17:08:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T22:08:25","slug":"inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-toymaking-by-a-parrot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-toymaking-by-a-parrot\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg’s Lab: Toy Making\u2014By A Parrot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"African
African grey Griffin isn’t one to play with toys, but appears to like making his own towel-burrito-style toy. Image courtesy Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I\u2019ve mentioned several times before, Griffin just isn\u2019t \u201cinto\u201d playing with standard parrot toys. He has ignored all the fancy ones we have offered, avoiding everything we\u2019ve tried. [Athena, in contrast, loves playing with her toys\u2014she especially enjoys chewing on those made of softwood, parrot-safe pine cones, and dried corn.]<\/p>\n

When on or in his cage, the only objects Griffin likes are ones we make out of construction paper\u2014we roll up several sheets, tie them with a piece of parrot-safe rawhide, and then feather the ends. He spends a decent amount of time chewing these every day. If he is on a table, however, he\u2019ll play with a spoon or a small plastic measuring cup\u2014but not when he’s on his cage. He has also ignored foraging toys in his cage but, again, when on a table or in a testing situation, will do something like pop a plastic lid from a cup to get food\u2014even when the same food is available for free (Smith et al., 2021)\u2014that is, he engages in contrafreeloading.<\/p>\n

We understand the contrafreeloading behavior\u2014Griffin gets to play with something fun and<\/em> get a treat, as opposed to just getting the treat. And although we don\u2019t quite understand why he ignores standard parrot toys, we accept his preferences. Moreover, given that he\u2019s usually involved in a number of different cognitive studies at any one time, we aren\u2019t at all concerned about his being bored. Nevertheless, we were extremely surprised to see that he has begun to make his own foraging toy! The background is as follows\u2026.<\/p>\n

Griffin The Toy Maker<\/h3>\n
\"food
A close-up of African grey Griffin’s self-styled “food burrito” foraging toy. Image courtesy of Dr. Irene Pepperberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, Griffin’s arthritis has become bad enough that he has had trouble perching on his food bowls, so we have begun to put his cooked grains on a clean paper towel in a corner on top of his cage instead. He happily eats that way, and we figured that we had solved the problem. One day we noted that he was spending an inordinate amount of time in that corner, and wondered why. When we investigated, we saw that he had actually folded<\/em> the towel around his food to make a pretty fancy kind of burrito-looking object! (See figures below\u2014and this one isn\u2019t even his best.) He subsequently spent a good part of the rest of the afternoon chewing a big hole in it and then<\/em> eating the rest of his lunch.<\/p>\n

African Grey Griffin<\/h3>\n

As it turned out, his behavior wasn\u2019t a one-off occurrence. He now does this burrito-building on a daily basis. Maybe it is just another chance to play with something made of paper (and now infused with the flavors of his food)? The only downside is that he has become rather protective of his creation. Consequently, it isn\u2019t all that easy now for the research assistants to clear away the lunch “burrito” so that they can replace it with his dinner grains. We figure that once he begins to realize the pattern\u2014that he gets fresh food and<\/em> the chance to make a second toy at dinner time\u2014he will become more accommodating.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure Griffin is not the only parrot to engage in such behavior\u2014but for a bird who has shown so little interest in toys over the course of his lifetime, I have to say that the moral of the story is that these parrots never cease to surprise us!<\/p>\n

Reference<\/p>\n

Smith, G.E., Greene, D., Hartsfield, L.A., & Pepperberg, I.M. (2021). Initial evidence for contrafreeloading in Grey parrots via the opportunity for playful foraging. J. Comp. Psychol.<\/em> 135<\/em>(4):516-533.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In her latest blog, Dr. Irene Pepperberg dishes on African grey Griffin’s preferences when it comes to foraging toys\u2014or lack thereof. Unlike his flockmate Athena, African grey Griffin isn\u2019t much of a toy lover. He prefers the basics like construction paper, and his preferences change slightly depending on whether it\u2019s inside or outside the cage. Imagine Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s surprise to discover that Griffin has taken to making his own \u201cburrito-style\u201d foraging toy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":36647,"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":[81,211],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-behavior","category-editor-choice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInside Dr. Pepperberg's Lab: Toy Making\u2014By A Parrot – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In her latest blog, Dr. Irene Pepperberg dishes on African grey Griffin's preferences when it comes to foraging toys\u2014or lack thereof. 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