When humans are feeling lonely, we can call or video chat with friends and family who live far away. But, scientists asked, what about pet parrots? New research suggests that these chatty creatures may also benefit from virtually connecting with their peers.
The idea for this study was not random: In the wild, parrots tend to live in large groups. But when kept in as pets, these social birds are often on their own. Feeling bored and lonely, they may develop psychological issues and can even turn to self-harming behaviours like pulling out their feathers.
In the study, researchers wanted to see whether 18 pet parrots could learn to make and receive video calls when they needed to help reduce loneliness. In the initial stage, the birds learnt to ring a bell and then touch a photo of another bird on a tablet screen to start a call to that bird. Calls would only work when caregivers were able to assist at both ends. In the second stage, the parrots could choose to call other birds at their own will by ringing the bell then selecting the bird they wanted to call. During a two-month study period, owners said they recorded 147 deliberate calls between birds.
"We saw some really encouraging results from the study," said researchers. The parrots seemed to grasp that they were truly engaging with other birds onscreen and their behaviour often mirrored what we would expect from real-life interactions between these types of birds. "She came alive during the calls," one pet owner said about her bird, according to a Northeastern University statement.
The team has previously designed similar technology such as DogPhone, which allowed pet dogs to shake a ball to communicate with their owner. "The animal Internet is already here—there are hundreds of products on the market that let pet owners interact with their animals remotely over the net, but their design is primarily focused on what humans want, not what their pets need," Hirskyj-Douglas from the University of Glasgow added.
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