Ex-pet birds teaching wild parrots to talk

Escaped pet birds are joining up with wild parrots and teaching them to talk

Writing in Australian Geographic, Hannah Price talks about a new phenomenon that has startled a few tourists visiting the outback, wild parrots that can talk. Apparently cockatoos have escaped from captivity, joined up with their wild cousins and given them lessons in the English language, Aussie style.

According to the Australian Museum’s Search and Discover desk as well as learning from humans directly, “the birds will mimic each other,” says Jaynia Sladek, from the Museum’s ornithology department. “There’s no reason why, if one comes into the flock with words, [then] another member of the flock wouldn’t pick it up as well.”

‘Hello cockie’ is the most common phrase, though there have been a few cases of foul-mouthed feathered friends using expletives which we can’t repeat here.

Even in large cities like Melbourne, cries of ‘Hello there!’, ‘G’day Darling!’, ‘What’s happening?’ from the tree tops from flocks of sulphur-crested cockatoos left householders wondering whether they were hearing things.

The evolution of language could well be passed on through the generations, “If the parents are talkers and they produce chicks, their chicks are likely to pick up some of that.” This phenomenon is not unique; some lyrebirds in southern Australia still reproduce the sounds of axes and old shutter-box cameras their ancestors once learned.

Fancy freaking out a few humans?

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