Parrots help others in need, study shows for first time
Parrots help others in need , study shows for first time Selflessness is not a uniquely human trait: Bats, rats, and now parrots will assist other members of their species, even strangers.
African grey parrots spontaneously "lend a wing," a study finds, the first time the behavior has been found in non-mammals.
African grey parrots spontaneously 'lend a wing'
People and other great apes are known for their willingness to help others in need , even strangers. Now, researchers have shown for the first time that some birds -- and specifically African grey ...
For example, crows—known for their intelligence— would not help other crows earn a nut reward, as parrots do for each other in the new study . The parrot study is "striking," says Karl Berg, an avian ecologist and wild parrot expert at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, despite the small numbers of birds in the study .
Feathered friends
African grey parrots help their peers complete tasks despite no immediate benefit to themselves, researchers have found, in the first study to show that birds display such apparently "selfless ...
Now, for the first time , it's been demonstrated in birds. The kind bird is one of the titans of avian intelligence, the African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). New experiments have shown these birds happily helping each other acquire treats, without any assumption or anticipation that their altruism will be reciprocated.
Parrots Show Surprising Altruism, Sharing Food With Groupmates
Further research will help clarify how these findings apply to other parrot species and real-world settings, including home environments. Bottom Line This landmark study shows that parrots are not just clever mimics—they are compassionate, capable of genuine generosity toward friends and strangers alike.
Parrots can perform impressive feats of intelligence, and a new study suggests that some of these "feathered apes" may also practice acts of kindness. African grey parrots voluntarily helped a partner get a food reward by giving the other bird a valuable metal token that could be exchanged for a walnut, according to a newly published report ...
Parrots Voluntarily Help Each Other to Obtain Food Rewards
Brucks and von Bayern show that African grey parrots voluntarily help familiar conspecifics and reciprocate token transfers if roles were reversed. Blue-headed macaws did not help each other . Species differences in social tolerance might explain the disparities. These results suggest that prosocial attitudes evolved convergently in birds.
A series of experiments demonstrated that African grey parrots had something like social intelligence in addition to their cleverness.