Alex (parrot) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Alex

Alex participating in a numerical cognition experiment
Species	grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus)
Sex	Male
Hatched	May 18, 1976 United Kingdom
Died	September 6, 2007(2007-09-06) (aged 31) Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Known for	Intelligent use of language
Owner	Irene Pepperberg

Alex (born May 18, 1976 – died September 6, 2007) was a very famous grey parrot. He was part of a special 30-year study by an animal scientist named Irene Pepperberg. This research started at the University of Arizona and later moved to Harvard University and Brandeis University.

Dr. Pepperberg bought Alex when he was about one year old from a pet shop. She wrote a book called "Alex & Me" about their unique friendship. In the book, she shares how Alex helped her understand how animals think. Alex's name was actually an acronym for "avian language experiment" or "avian learning experiment." Some people even compared him to Albert Einstein because he was so smart. When he was just two years old, he could correctly answer questions meant for six-year-old kids!

Before Alex, many scientists thought that only animals with large brains, like primates, could understand complex things like language. Birds were often seen as not very smart, only able to copy sounds. But Alex changed these ideas! His amazing skills showed that birds might be able to think and use words in creative ways. Dr. Pepperberg believed Alex's intelligence was similar to that of dolphins and great apes. She also said that Alex seemed as smart as a five-year-old human in some ways. She felt he had even more potential when he passed away. She thought he had the feelings of a two-year-old human when he died.

Alex's Early Life

Animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg found Alex at a pet store. At the time, she was working as a researcher at Purdue University. She thinks that Alex might have had his wings clipped when he was very young. This might have stopped him from learning to fly.

How Alex Was Trained

Alex learned using a special method called the "model/rival technique." In this method, Alex watched two trainers working together. One trainer would show the behavior they wanted Alex to learn. This trainer was seen as a "rival" for the other trainer's attention. The trainers would then switch roles. This helped Alex see that the learning process was a two-way street. Dr. Pepperberg said that sometimes, if she and her assistant made a mistake while talking, Alex would correct them!

This training method helped Dr. Pepperberg succeed with Alex. Other scientists had tried to teach parrots to communicate, but they hadn't been as successful. As Alex got older, he sometimes even helped teach other parrots in the lab. He would act as the "model" and "rival" himself. Alex also practiced words when he was alone.

Alex's Amazing Skills

Dr. Pepperberg didn't say Alex used "language" exactly. Instead, she said he used a "two-way communication code." In 1999, she listed some of Alex's impressive skills:

• He could identify 50 different objects.
• He could count up to six items.
• He knew seven colors and five shapes.
• He understood ideas like "bigger," "smaller," "same," and "different."
• He was learning "over" and "under."

Alex also passed difficult tests about object permanence. This is the idea that an object still exists even when you can't see it. Alex showed surprise or anger if an object wasn't there or was different from what he expected during these tests.

Alex knew over 100 words. What made him special was that he seemed to understand what he was saying. For example, if he was shown an object and asked about its shape, color, or what it was made of, he could answer correctly. He could describe a key as a key, no matter its size or color. He could also tell how one key was different from others.

One time, looking in a mirror, he asked "what color?" He then learned the word "grey" after being told it six times. This made him the first and only non-human animal known to ask a question! Alex's ability to ask questions, and even answer Dr. Pepperberg's questions with his own questions, is written about in many articles.

Alex seemed to understand how to take turns in talking. He also sometimes understood the order of words in sentences. He called an apple a "banerry." A friend of Dr. Pepperberg's, who studies language, thought this might be a mix of "banana" and "cherry," which were two fruits Alex knew well.

Alex could even do simple addition. He could correctly say how many similar objects were on a tray. Dr. Pepperberg said that even if he wasn't truly "counting," he could quickly and accurately guess numbers better than humans sometimes.

When Alex was tired of being tested, he would say "Wanna go back." This meant he wanted to return to his cage. He would often ask to go to a specific place by saying "Wanna go..." If he was taken somewhere else, he would protest. But if he was taken to his preferred spot, he would sit quietly. He wasn't taught to say where he wanted to go. He just learned it from being asked where he would like to be taken.

If a researcher seemed annoyed, Alex would try to calm them down by saying, "I'm sorry." If he asked for a "Wanna banana" but was offered a nut, he would stare silently. Then he would ask for the banana again. Sometimes, he would even take the nut and throw it at the researcher to show he was annoyed. Then he would ask for the banana again. When asked questions during research tests, he gave the correct answer about 80 percent of the time.

One time, Alex was given different colored blocks: two red, three blue, and four green. Dr. Pepperberg asked him, "What color three?" She expected him to say "blue." But Alex seemed bored, as he had been asked this before. He answered "five!" This kept happening until Dr. Pepperberg said, "Fine, what color five?" Alex replied "none." This showed that parrots, like humans, can get bored. Sometimes, Alex would answer questions incorrectly, even if he knew the right answer.

Early research also suggested that Alex could connect the idea of four blue balls of wool on a tray to four notes played on a piano. Dr. Pepperberg was also teaching him to recognize the written symbol "4" as "four." Alex also showed some understanding of personal pronouns. He used different words when talking about himself versus others, showing he understood "I" and "you."

In July 2005, Dr. Pepperberg reported that Alex understood the idea of zero. If asked the difference between two objects, he would answer. But if there was no difference, he would say "none." This meant he understood the idea of nothing or zero. In July 2006, Dr. Pepperberg found that Alex saw optical illusions in a similar way to humans.

Dr. Pepperberg was also teaching Alex to recognize English written letters and sounds. She hoped he would connect a written English word with the spoken word. He could identify sounds made by two-letter combinations like "SH" and "OR."

Alex's Death

Alex died on September 6, 2007, when he was 31 years old. His death was a surprise because grey parrots in captivity usually live for about 45 years. His very last words to Dr. Pepperberg were the same words he said every night when she left the lab: "You be good, I love you. See you tomorrow."

Criticisms

Some scientists are not fully convinced by Dr. Pepperberg's findings. They suggest that Alex's communication might have been just operant conditioning. This means he might have been trained to give certain responses to get a reward, rather than truly understanding language. For example, Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee, was thought to use language, but some people debate if he just copied his teacher. Herbert Terrace, who worked with Nim Chimpsky, believes Alex might have learned by rote (memorizing) instead of using language. He thinks Alex's answers were "a complex discriminating performance." He also claims that in every situation, "there is an external stimulus that guides his response."

See Also

In Spanish: Alex (loro) para niños

Images for kids

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  Alex participating in a numerical cognition experiment