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Clever-Parrot.com
Welcome to Clever Parrot
We are all fascinated with birds that can talk. Not only are parrots beautiful in color
and movement, but the very fact that they can speak captures our attention in a way that few other birds can do.
Parrot's ability to talk or mimic is related to their gregarious nature. Parrots have
a long life span and are very social. In the wild, parrot chicks learn to mimic
vocalizations specific to their parents. As they play or work together, these parrots
repeat vocalizations to each other, which helps keep bonds strong.
There are many different types of parrots, each with an interesting history and
unique personality. With so many to choose from, it is important that before going
out and buying just any parrot, you know as much as possible about the specific
breeds available.
On this site we will firstly look at the different species of parrots available. Where you can buy your parrot and how best to pick
which one is right for you. We are then going
to take a close look at how you can establish a relationship with your parrot.
You will then learn how
to set up your parrots optimal environment, taking into account what cages, grooming, diet, toys etc.
After this you are going to discover a variety of techniques you can put into practise to
get your parrot to talk, including reproducing human speech.
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Getting Your Parrot to Talk continued......
Bird Psychology
Only a few techniques can be used to teach your bird to do more than
mimic the human speech, that is, to use words meaningfully and in
appropriate context.
American researchers, Joseph H. Grosslight, Wesley C. Zaynor, and O.H.
Mowrer, tried to use procedures of a psychological laboratory to teach birds
to communicate meaningfully. A test was conducted in 1977 on a one
year-old African Grey parrot named Alex. Combining the experimental
rigor of the laboratory with what little was known about parrot
communication in nature, and borrowing ideas from projects that examined
the bases for human social learning, techniques were devised to teach Alex
to communicate meaning fully. These techniques have been successful.
ACTION PLAN:
Place your bird in social isolation and play tapes of sounds you
wanted them to mimic, or repeat sounds in the birds' presence
without any reference to the meaning of the words. If the bird
responds appropriate, reward it with food. These utterances actually
become requests for food, rather than meaningful communication.
Intrinsic Rewards
One feature common to all our training procedures is the consistent,
exclusive use of intrinsic rewards. This system provides some flexibility,
but it keeps his reward vocalizations meaningful. For example, your bird
will never automatically receive a slice of banana after identifying a cork.
The bird must specifically request banana ("I want banana"). No response
will be given unless the appropriate task is completed.
ACTION PLAN:
Work for ten minutes on a specific word associated with an object,
such as a cork. Once your bird requests a cork, it will be rewarded
with a cork. The reward is for using a word to label an object
specific object to which the label refers but not a general item like
food. This procedure consistently ensures the closest possible
connection between the objects and their labels, and prevents the
bird from using its labels as a means to get food, unless, of course,
they are food labels.
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Below you will find a small selection of items we recommend to all parrot owners
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