Lonely parrots turn to the internet

Add Animal-Computer Interaction Specialist to the list of studies that I would have liked to have known about when choosing a field of study. Recent research by a team of these researchers indicates that parrots can benefit from video calling with conspecifics.

A team of American and Scottish researchers offered a group of parrots the opportunity to independently contact each other via the internet. The behavior of the birds was then observed. In any case, it is an interesting answer when you are asked by a stranger at a party what you do in daily life.

Birds are a popular pet. The US alone has more than 20 million. However, the living conditions of these animals often leave much to be desired. That’s not illogical. Where you can make a cat happy with some furniture to demolish and you can at least go outside with a dog, entertaining a bird is slightly more difficult. Especially when it comes to a parrot, a pretty intelligent species.

Parrots also have a high need for stimulation socially. Where this is lacking, you often see aggressive behavior and/or self-mutilation. Toys, proper nutrition, an adapted environment and interactive puzzles solve a lot, but not the lack of socialization. In addition, the necessary infectious diseases are circulating among the parrots, which makes ‘beak to beak’ socialization difficult. As if arranging a play date for the parrot wasn’t hard enough already.

E-gadgets, the modern parrot cannot do without!

How do you solve that problem? To answer this question, we return to the Animal-Computer Interaction Specialists. It was equally known that parrots can use tablets. So the question arose: if you give them the option, will parrots video call each other? The answer soon turned out to be a yes, and a lot!

But don’t they just call and do the parrots understand what’s going on? These questions were central to the research. In answering this question, careful attention was paid to the behavior of the parrots. To confirm that contact with other birds and not some other reward drove the birds to call, once the behavior had been taught, no food was rewarded. To teach the behavior, the caregivers first demonstrated the actions. A bell was rung (so that birds could indicate to their keepers that they wanted to call). Then a bird was selected on the screen. After the group of 18 birds had been introduced to each other in this way, the reins were handed over to the birds themselves.

During a period of 2 months, the parrots were given the opportunity to call each day. They did that 147 times, resulting in more than 1000 hours of video data (including meet and greet calls). The observed behavior spoke volumes. Birds reacted to the appearance of their bird friends. They also tried to follow conspecifics on the other side of the screen and reacted when they left the screen. Individual birds showed clear preference for certain call partners.

In addition, parrots that placed more outgoing bells also received more in return. So there seemed to be a social dynamic within the group of test birds. Birds that called more often also invariably responded more to the behavior of the other birds and called longer. Belling birds showed group behavior: if one went to take care of the feathers, the other did the same and they sang and played together. Caretakers also report a better bond with their animal after the study.

The researchers themselves indicate that further research is needed. The behavior exhibited should be studied further before each owner of a parrot is asked to order a tablet for the animal. They do see promise for the well-being of the many birds that are kept as pets.

Fortunately, implementing the research does not require miracles. After all, there are already hundreds of products on the market that allow owners to connect with their pets. The step towards direct contact between birds can therefore be made quickly. So, do you have a grumpy parrot at home and have you tried everything else? Maybe see if video calling with a congener offers a solution.