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Research has shown that pet parrots may experience loneliness just like humans do. To combat this, scientists have discovered that connecting these birds with their peers through virtual means may be beneficial.
The study involved owners teaching their parrots to ring a bell and initiate a video call with another pet parrot on a tablet screen. During the first two weeks of the experiment, participating birds made a total of 212 video calls while their owners carefully monitored their behaviour.
Calls were terminated as soon as the birds stopped paying attention to the screen and were limited to a maximum of five minutes. Although 18 parrots initially participated, three dropped out during the course of the study.
After acquiring the skill to initiate video interactions, the experiment progressed to its second phase. During the “open call” period, the 15 birds that participated were given the freedom to make calls and choose which bird to contact. The pet parrots made a total of 147 video calls to other birds over the course of two months. The owners carefully documented the calls and recorded over 1,000 hours of video footage, which the researchers analyzed. Read more
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