Cover of Thinking like a Parrot
Thinking like a Parrot Perspectives from the Wild
by Alan B. Bond and Judy Diamond
University of Chicago Press, 2019
Cloth: 978-0-226-24878-3 | Paper: 978-0-226-81520-6 | Electronic: 978-0-226-24881-3
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.001.0001

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ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

From two experts on wild parrot cognition, a close look at the intelligence, social behavior, and conservation of these widely threatened birds.

People form enduring emotional bonds with other animal species, such as dogs, cats, and horses. For the most part, these are domesticated animals, with one notable exception: many people form close and supportive relationships with parrots, even though these amusing and curious birds remain thoroughly wild creatures. What enables this unique group of animals to form social bonds with people, and what does this mean for their survival?

In Thinking like a Parrot, Alan B. Bond and Judy Diamond look beyond much of the standard work on captive parrots to the mischievous, inquisitive, and astonishingly vocal parrots of the wild. Focusing on the psychology and ecology of wild parrots, Bond and Diamond document their distinctive social behavior, sophisticated cognition, and extraordinary vocal abilities. Also included are short vignettes—field notes on the natural history and behavior of both rare and widely distributed species, from the neotropical crimson-fronted parakeet to New Zealand’s flightless, ground-dwelling kākāpō. This composite approach makes clear that the behavior of captive parrots is grounded in the birds’ wild ecology and evolution, revealing that parrots’ ability to bond with people is an evolutionary accident, a by-product of the intense sociality and flexible behavior that characterize their lives.

Despite their adaptability and intelligence, however, nearly all large parrot species are rare, threatened, or endangered. To successfully manage and restore these wild populations, Bond and Diamond argue, we must develop a fuller understanding of their biology and the complex set of ecological and behavioral traits that has led to their vulnerability. Spanning the global distribution of parrot species, Thinking like a Parrot is rich with surprising insights into parrot intelligence, flexibility, and—even in the face of threats—resilience.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Alan B. Bond is professor emeritus of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska and Judy Diamond is professor and curator at the University of Nebraska State Museum. Together they have studied the social behavior, cognition, and vocalizations of wild parrots for more than three decades. They are coauthors of Kea, Bird of Paradox: The Evolution and Behavior of a New Zealand Parrot and Concealing Coloration in Animals. For more on their research, please visit the website of the Center for Avian Cognition, http://www.aviancog.org/.

REVIEWS

“There is indeed something special about parrots. Bond and Diamond have captured beautifully the essence of both the extreme complexity and sophistication of the wild birds and our complex relationship with them. Thinking like a Parrot nails the most difficult aspect by managing to explain, without getting bogged down, the high levels of cognition and intelligence of parrots, especially in context of their complex social lives. Totally original and engagingly written.”
— Robert Heinsohn, Australian National University, coeditor of "Boom and Bust: Bird Stories for a Dry Country"

“Although parrots have shared our hearts and hearths for hundreds of years, our understanding of their natural behavior has remained shrouded in mystery—until now. As parrots are notoriously difficult to study in the wild, the soap opera of their existence has remained unclear. In Thinking like a Parrot, Bond and Diamond have looked behind the curtain to reveal that parrots possess minds and behavior as complex and intriguing as any creatures in the animal kingdom. This is an exceptional guide for anyone who wants to discover more about how this stunning group of birds think about the world. As we continue to destroy the diverse habitats that wild parrots call home, it’s become apparent that we need to learn all we can about them before it’s too late. Parrots are so much more than the chatty, funny trickster companions that we know and love. This is the perfect guide to learning their secrets.”
— Nathan J. Emery, Queen Mary University of London,author of "Bird Brain: An Exploration of Avian Intelligence"

“Parrots have unusually large brains, surprisingly flexible learning and intelligence, amazing mimetic abilities, and rich, complicated social interactions. What evolutionary pressures have shaped these traits? In this entertaining and well-written book, Bond and Diamond offer a vivid portrait of the lives of parrots, keas, and macaws. It is a scientifically up-to-date tour de force, easily accessible to scientists and non-scientists alike, that elegantly summarizes the birds’ history, biology, and spread throughout the world—not to mention their complex relations with humans, who have for centuries selectively bred them for their wits and personalities.”
— Robert M. Seyfarth, University of Pennsylvania, coauthor of "The Social Origins of Language" and "Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind"

“The minds of wild parrots brim with intelligence, and their lives with clever, flexible, and exuberant behavior. This fascinating book takes us into their universe to discover not just how these birds live, but how they think, ‘talk,’ and feel. You’ll be amazed by the surprises—the slang of kākās, the playful gangs of galahs, the ingenious adaptability of rose-ringed parakeets.”
— Jennifer Ackerman, author of "The Genius of Birds"

"There have been numerous books written about these remarkably brainy but especially endangered birds. This is one of the very best. The authors have studied the lives of wild parrots for over thirty years. Their groundbreaking research into the social behavior, ecology, and intelligence of a wide range of parrot species greatly augments the knowledge obtained from studies of captive birds, and plays an important part in helping conservationists understand how best to save them. This is both a beautifully written survey that anyone can appreciate and a serious reference work."
— BBC Wildlife

"This fascinating and meticulously researched book explores the astonishing levels of cognition and intelligence of wild parrots, especially in the context of their complex social lives. . . . Under [Bond and Diamond's] expert guidance, we meet brilliant keas, cheeky sulphur-crested cockatoos, affable crimson-fronted parakeets, dazzling rainbow lorikeets, adaptable rose-ringed parakeets, and adorable kakapos. . . . This book is filled with intriguing information, some of it new or unfamiliar to those who know parrots best. . . . Engaging and wonderfully-written. . . . Over the years, I have read almost every book about parrots published in the English language, and this is, hands down, the best parrot book published in the past ten years, and certainly one of the best ever published. This succinct and erudite summary of the latest scientific research into these birds’ natural history, biology, ecology, and evolution is most unusual because it will be read and cherished by ornithologists and scientists as well as non-specialists, and by parrot breeders, behaviorists, and owners alike for years to come, and will appeal to anyone who wishes to learn more about how parrots view the world."
— GrrlScientist, Forbes

"Parrots are birds that are familiar to all, famed for their beauty, their ability to mimic and talk, and for their emotional bonds with humans. Most books about parrots are either field guides to all the species or books on captive care. Here ecologists Bond and Diamond focus instead on the minds and behavior of parrots in the wild, drawing together years of their own field work and that of scores of other researchers; the massive bibliography alone is worth the price of the book. Divided into six sections, this inquiry into wild parrots examines their evolution, their behavior, their sociability, their cognition, the lives of the few parrot species that have expanded their ranges, and, finally, the conservation of parrots, the majority of which are threatened by human-caused environmental change. Throughout, Bond and Diamond intersperse tales of their own research on New Zealand’s parrots with studies of other parrot species around the world, illuminating the adaptability and intelligence of these gorgeous birds even in the face of environmental stress. Parrots are very sophisticated animals! . . . Give this very readable compendium to bird-loving and nature-intrigued teens."
— Booklist

"Under the 'thinking' rubric are chapters on the evolution of brain and sensory systems; various models of behavior, social relationships and communication, adaptive flexibility or lack (hence range expansions and contractions); and something called 'intelligence.' Parrots have it and outperform corvids (crows, jays, ravens), the next 'smartest' bird group. Anyone who has cohabited with parrots (they are more companions than pets) knows about their 'smarts,' dealing with novelties, persistence, and long-term memory. This book focuses on lessons from wild parrots: from both authors’ studies of parrots on several continents and from the literature. This is a far-ranging work, clearly written and extensively referenced and generally makes interesting reading. Even an experienced parrot biologist will say, 'I didn’t know they could do that.'"
— Choice

"Thinking like a Parrot describes the behavior, cognition, ecology, and conservation of wild parrots and includes a number of appendixes, an extensive list of references, and a beautiful set of color plates. The book does not discuss parrots as though they were small humans but, instead, is a well-considered attempt to explain parrot behavior in terms of parrot ecology and evolution. . . . I highly recommend Thinking like a Parrot to anyone interested in birds, animal cognition, and conservation and management."
— BioScience

"Bond and Diamond take on the immense task of elucidating aspects of parrot evolution, ecology, and behavior that have largely remained inaccessible, endeavoring to fill a gaping niche of priceless information and insight about these charismatic organisms. A collection of informative essays preceded by vivid vignettes of recollected experiences with wild parrots, Thinking like a Parrot takes its readers down a logical path of immersion into the reality that parrots face. . . . Bond and Diamond have taken on a very ambitious task in Thinking like a Parrot, shouldering the heavy responsibility of bringing so many commonly unknown aspects of parrots to light and in charming detail. The book is a fabulous read, with excellent starting points to enable readers to delve deeper into topics concerning the lives of wild parrots. Even as bird experts, we discovered many fascinating new details. It is a welcome, necessary, and appreciated body of work; even long-time parrot owners and enthusiasts would be well served to read this book."
— Current Biology

TABLE OF CONTENTS


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0001
[lorikeet;nectar feeding;competition;aggression;roost;Australia]
Beautiful as ballerinas and efficient as machines, rainbow lorikeets in northeastern Australia harvest nectar and pollen from thousands of flowers per day. They are highly efficient foragers with an extensible tongue able to reach out to nearly twice the length of their bill. Lorikeets are fiercely aggressive to their competitors, which include not only other lorikeets, but a wide range of other birds, insects, and bats. They roost communally in local trees every evening, complaining and snapping at each other until they settle down for the night.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0002
[Psittaciformes;tree of life;changing environments;fossil record;range;Australasia;evolution;rainforest]
The Psittaciformes, the avian order of parrots, includes about 400 living species. The parrot tree of life has three main branches: the Strigopoidea, Cacatuoidea, and Psittacoidea. As the Earth’s climate abruptly shifted about thirty million years ago, the wet forests receded, and many rainforest species disappeared from the fossil record. One group of early parrots found sanctuary in the temperate environment of Australasia, the region that now includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and surrounding islands. This began the transition to modern parrots. Today, native ranges are no longer the best indicators of where parrots are found in the wild. Some species have survived in spite of changing environments, spreading far from their original habitats, but others occupy only a fragile remnant of their former ranges.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0003
[brains;senses;social knowledge;vision;intelligence]
Parrots have unusual brains, with a complex structure that is unlike those of mammals. These birds inhabit an entirely different visual world from mammals, with greater sensitivity and independent functioning of the two eyes. Their other senses are equally remarkable; for example, they distinguish their food more by touch than by taste. Compared to other birds known for their intelligence, such as corvids, parrots have larger brains for their body size. They seem able to learn almost anything – taking advantage of new foods and exploiting the social knowledge of other birds. And yet, in the face of all this diversity, their behavior across the entire order is so characteristically parrot-like: compulsively social, continuously vocal, and intensely expressive.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0004
[cockatoo;emotions;crest feathers;grooming;foraging;nest holes;ecological edges;Australia]
Sulphur-crested cockatoos express their emotional states in a wide range of behaviors, including raising their crest of long yellow feathers. Pairs are intensely social, engaging in long bouts of grooming. They nest in tree cavities, but the cavities are a limited resource, and cockatoos must protect their nest holes from being taken over by other parrots. Sulphur-crested cockatoos are foraging generalists, feeding on a wide variety of fruits, leaves, and grains. They prefer ecological edges where native forest meets areas of human disturbance. Their populations are expanding with the spread of agriculture in Australia, and they have settled into human developments and parks, such as the Sydney Botanical Gardens.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0005
[innate;learned responses;display;social standing;conflict;affection;aggression;social structure;dominance]
In stable groups of parrots, the sum total of innate expressions and learned responses shapes the social structure. The birds share an implicit understanding of the meaning of many evolved displays, but they are also personally acquainted with one another, and from their past histories of interaction they know the nuances and quirks of particular individuals. On the basis of this experience, they generally know each other’s social standing: who is going to dominate in any pair-wise conflict, who is worth watching because they find new resources, and who are the best of friends. The bonds between individual parrots, whether formed from respect, affection, or aggression, interweave to create the social fabric of parrot life.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0006
[social play;object play;play invitation;kea;rough and tumble play;play functions;kaka]
Through play, young parrots explore the full range of social dynamics under risk-free circumstances. Keas and kakas engage in rough and tumble play on the ground, standing on each other’s stomachs and flapping their wings. Scarlet macaws in the forest canopy hang upside down by one foot, flapping their wings, and screeching loudly. Bouts of social play usually begin with specialized invitation displays, such as head cocks, bouncy approaches, and rolling over. Researchers have reached no consensus on the functions of play or how it came to be such an integral part of parrot behavior, but play is associated with extended parental care and large relative brain size. Parrot play may directly prevent siblings from inflicting harm on each other by rechanneling aggression. And it may provide other experiences that will help the birds to later navigate their social world. Object play, both social and solitary, gives young parrots experience with the features of their environment, increasing their foraging flexibility.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0007
[Costa Rica;foraging;play;Las Cruces Biological Station;parakeet;alarm call;roost]
Crimson-fronted parakeets roost in an old palm tree at the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica. After foraging in nearby orchards during the day, the parrots return to the area around the palm tree in the late afternoon. They first socialize in the surrounding trees, clustering in small family groups composed of two adults and one to three offspring. They approach the roost cautiously, alarming calling as a few individuals move into the palm, followed gradually by the rest of the flock. The road to independence is a lopsided process, with juveniles persistently approaching their parents, who then attempt to move away. When they feel safe from predators, such as snakes and caracaras, groups of juveniles engage in rambunctious play bouts.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0008
[monogamous;pair bond;courtship;same-sex;copulation;monk parakeet;nests;social network;kea]
Parrots take their time developing sexual partnerships. Courtship is slow and multifaceted, with some highly ritualized components. Many parrots form monogamous relationships that can last their lifetimes. Others, such as black cockatoos, monk parakeets, and green-rumped parrotlets, sometimes form same-sex pair bonds that include copulation and nest building. Parrots typically nest in tree cavities, but there are many variations that include cliff tunnels, chambers in termite nests, and the fabulously constructed apartments of monk parakeets. Nestlings emerge into relationships with both their parents and their siblings. Parrot relationships are embedded in social networks composed of mates, family members, or groups of juveniles who spend time together. Analysis of kea social networks reveals that there are different kinds of relationships among the individuals in a flock. Among parrots, cohorts of mutually close friends associate in larger groups – foraging aggregations, communal nests, or nighttime roosts. These larger groupings are stable when consistent resources are present, and they can persist for years. When resources change, connections between cohorts can rapidly dissolve and reform into new combinations.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0009
[vocalize;social status;learned calls;song;dialect;vocal repertoire;duet;kaka;kea]
Parrots vocalize to navigate their social world, expressing emotional states and dispositions, asserting privilege, disclosing affiliations, and announcing intentions. The vocalizations also identify individuals, their social status, and their connections to the local clan. And nearly all their calls are learned from scratch by young parrots over the course of their development. Young birds copy the sounds made by older individuals, juveniles acquire calls from each other, and mates adopt unique notes when they duet together. Although they are capable of saying much more, the vocal repertoire of wild parrots is generally constrained to a small set of primary call types. Keas use essentially the same set of calls throughout their range, but their close relatives, kakas, have an entirely different vocal system that includes elaborate morning songs. Each kaka population, even those in close proximity to others, has a recognizably different dialect.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0010
[kaka;New Zealand;Maori;foraging;endangered;honeydew]
The kaka, a lowland rainforest relative of the kea, is a versatile forager on nectar, nuts, larvae, and honeydew. This native New Zealand parrot uses ingenious foraging techniques to solve problems posed by distributional, seasonal, and annual variations in fruiting and flowering. Where food is abundant, kakas are confronted with the challenges of foraging in aggregations alongside strangers that come from other clans. Kept as pets and utilized for food and clothing by local Maori, they were also trained to speak. After decades of destruction of their forest habitat by colonists and introduced predatory mammals, they are now highly endangered.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0011
[specialists;generalists;kea;foraging;perception;learning;imitation;exploration;attention;memory]
Whether wild parrots are specialists like lorikeets or generalists like keas, foraging is an expression of their cognition. Perception, memory and learning are integrated as the birds extract and filter the sensory flow from the environment, combine it with memories of past experiences, and use the results to formulate their future behavior. Paying attention is the central currency in parrot flocks. As parrots explore their environment, their attention is drawn to the objects and locations that other individuals have found rewarding. In the wild, parrots primarily learn foraging skills by bumbling through an endless series of error-prone attempts, and in many cases, persistence does win out. But they also constantly observe successful foragers. There is no evidence that parrots in the wild directly imitate the actions of others, but they do focus on the locations, objects, and behavior patterns that successful foragers have used.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0012
[cognitive maps;transitive inference;reversal;concept formation;reasoning by exclusion;tool use;grey parrot;kea;problem solving]
Cognitive maps, transitive inference, reversal learning, concept formation, and reasoning by exclusion are part of the packet of intellectual tools that parrots use to make sense of the world in which they live. Other abilities, such as tool use, naming objects, or some forms of reasoning, may not occur naturally, but they can sometimes be elicited in the laboratory. In psychological tests, grey parrots demonstrate near-human performance and keas solve intricate physical problems. But the wild, these species do not appear as remarkable. This begs the question of whether parrots, with their big brains and diverse cognition, have some sort of general intelligence with capabilities that, although not used on a daily basis, can be called upon when the need arises.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0013
[naturalized;invader;parakeet;competition;agricultural pest;India;aggressive]
Originally native to India and the Sahel, rose-ringed parakeets have spread their range across the globe. They are agricultural pests throughout their native range, and flocks of these birds wreak havoc on grain crops in India and Pakistan. In Hawaii, naturalized rose-ringed parakeets devastate local fruit crops. A naturalized population in Bakersfield, California, has become established in city parks, feeding on backyard fruit trees and roosting in a clump of palms at a busy intersection. They are one of the most successful invaders of any species of parrot, and they aggressively compete with native birds and mammals.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0014
[monk parakeet;Barcelona;multifamily nest;introduced parrots;pet parrots;black-hooded parakeet;Florida;range expansion;little corella]
The concept of natural parrot ranges is now a historical construct, since there are no parrot species on Earth whose distribution has not been influenced by human-related environmental change. In Australia, little corellas and other native parrots have vastly expanded their ranges in response to agricultural development. About sixteen percent of living parrot species have at least one population breeding completely outside its native range. In the United States, there are as many as ten million pet parrots, and although many are captive bred and cared for by responsible owners, every day some of these are released into the wild. Many of these released birds die, but a select few successfully breed and raise offspring. In Barcelona, Spain, introduced monk parakeets have constructed elaborate multifamily nests in parks adjoining Gaudí’s famous cathedral. Monk parakeets are among the few parrots in the world that build their own nests. In Florida, naturalized black-hooded parakeets share quarters with monk parakeets in electrical substations. The impacts of introduced parrots on native species are just beginning to be understood.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0015
[lek;endangered;flightless;New Zealand;herbivore;nocturnal;masting;booming]
Kakapos are the world’s most unusual parrots and one of the most endangered. They are flightless, and they weigh more than any other parrot species. They are the only parrot known to have a mating system where the males attract females to display areas, called leks, with booming vocalizations. Primarily nocturnal, kakapos are strict herbivores, feeding on plants and fungi, and they breed only when rimu trees are masting, producing massive amounts of fruit. All known individuals live in protected reserves that are intensively managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0016
[vulnerable;threatened;endangered;islands;captive breeding;Puerto Rican amazon;trafficking;New Zealand;predator free]
Almost a third of all living parrot species are currently listed as vulnerable, threatened, or endangered. Many species of parrots are restricted in their distribution to small oceanic islands, where they are exceedingly vulnerable to human disruption. When parrot populations shrink to low levels, additional factors magnify the effects of habitat loss and exploitation. As a parrot population begins to collapse – whether as a result of habitat loss, hunting, predation, trafficking in wild-caught parrots, or climate change – the decline eventually becomes irreversible. Captive breeding and release have aided the survival of species such as the Puerto Rican Amazon, but even the best-established programs have had uneven long-term success. The New Zealand Department of Conservation has some of the world’s most sophisticated techniques for the management of critically endangered birds. Most effective has been to set aside entire islands under stringent protection and maintain them free of predators.


DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226248813.003.0017
[pet parrots;budgerigar;artificially selected;Alex;language;intentionality;theory of mind;referential communication]
Parrots and people have a history of interdependence that goes back millennia. In captivity, they live as friends, sharing the sorrows and triumphs of daily life, but pet parrots are still wild animals. The budgerigar is one of the few parrots to have been artificially selected. A captive grey parrot, Alex, has shown evidence of referential communication and a form of intentionality, but questions remain whether this constitutes something like human language. Language also requires theory of mind, showing evidence that the birds can understand things from someone else’s point of view, and this has yet to be demonstrated in parrots. In the wild, parrots anchor the natural biodiversity and remind us of their pivotal role in ecosystems.

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