Posted by "GrrlScientist" on October 29, 2007 tags: Irene Pepperberg, Alex, African grey parrot, streaming video
Alex was a famous African grey parrot who could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials. He died about five weeks ago, after 30 years of helping researchers better understand the avian brain. This streaming video below the fold has a wonderful tribute to Alex and his many talents. [2:39]
This is actually the first time I have listened to
Alex talk, after reading much about him over the years. Thank you for posting this tribute on your blog.
Ok, it was pretty good until they superimposed Einstien’s hair onto Alex. Then I just started laughing. 
I don’t like how they describe Alex as some kind of parrot genius. He wasn’t selected for high intelligence, he is just an average parrot who got to live in a very stimulating environment. There are likely to be lots of potentially smarter parrots out there being bored to death because their owners just leave them in a cage.
Irene actually emphasizes the fact that she chose Alex precisely because he was average, nothing special. She didn’t want to get the criticism later that Alex wasn’t representative of what a Grey parrot was capable of.
October 29, 2007
October 29, 2007
October 30, 2007