sessions. For example, he can give the correct answer to the question
of “What’s the same?” when presented with a green triangular piece
of wood and a blue one.
- If a trainer hands Alex something different from what he
asked for, Alex usually says “No” and repeats his original request.
Moreover, he can correctly say which of two objects is the larger or
the smaller. If they’re the same size, he answers, “None.”
- Given a series of objects of different shapes and colors, Alex
can say how many of them are, for example, green triangles or blue
squares. Able to sort different bottle tops according to size, he can al-
so combine words to say “I want a green nut” or express wishes in
simple sentences such as, “Come here.”
- To study the parrot’s conceptualization ability, Alex was
asked, “What color is object X?” Out of 100 objects of different
shapes, colors, and materials, he has a success rate of 81.3% in an-
swering correctly. His correct answers show that he understands all
the elements of the question and chooses the right answer by ob-
taining the required information from objects he is shown.
As Alex’s example shows, parrots given the necessary training
can memorize fairly long sentences, use them appropriately, and use
them to reply to various ques-
tions. In addition, they can rec-
ognize various words and com-
The Miracle of Talking Birds
44
Alex can say how many green trian-
gles and blue squares there are in a
group of differently shaped and col-
ored objects. In creatures with no
knowledge or intelligence, the devel-
opment of learning ability and ability
to recall what they’ve learned is the
inspiration of God.
