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December 1, 2023 3:14 PM

Parrots learn to make video calls to chat with other parrots, then develop friendships, Northeastern University researchers say
posted by MonsieurPEB (9 comments total)

Won’t be long before they’re quiet quitting …
posted by chavenet at 3:15 PM on December 1, 2023

Brrak! We were doing so good. Then ghosted me. Braaak!
posted by Splunge at 3:18 PM on December 1, 2023

This is sooooo cute. Wonder if doggos can do same?
posted by davidmsc at 3:20 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

How I imagine this going:
First parrot: "I'd like a cracker."
Second parrot: "Yes, I want a cracker."
First parrot: "I want a cracker."
Second parrot: "I also want a cracker."
First parrot: "Cracker."
Second parrot: "Yes, cracker."
- continues until eventual accidental disconnect due to ISP service outage.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 3:46 PM on December 1, 2023

Wonder if doggos can do same?

Can't help thinking of this.
posted by May Kasahara at 4:03 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

next thing you know they'll be booking flights.
posted by clavdivs at 4:12 PM on December 1, 2023

One of my firmest beliefs is that future humans will look back on our ignorance of nonhuman intelligence with a deserving amount of bewilderment and derision. There is so much evidence against human exceptionalism and it seems to be mounting faster by the day. This is an especially delightful study because the habits match up nicely with our own, but of course other species have their own ways of being in the world and understandings of it. There are a million lines of thought starting with "What is it like to be a..." and now we have an answer, however partial, for the question that ends "...parrot on Zoom?" This sort of thing is one of the last vestiges of wonder for me as I enter middle age and I feel incredibly lucky to be learning about this kind of research.
posted by criticalyeast at 4:42 PM on December 1, 2023 [11 favorites]

This is sooooo cute. Wonder if doggos can do same?

I’ve been on a work video call where two dogs started howling together, so we’re not far.
posted by neilbert at 4:54 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'd seen an article about parrots doing video calls before, but the linked related story article about the woman who taught her cockatoo to read was a new one on me.
posted by fings at 5:20 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]