&sq=&lang=&file=File:Alex_the_Parrot.jpg) Alex participating in a numerical cognition experiment | |
| Species | Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Hatched | May 18, 1976 United Kingdom |
| Died | September 6, 2007 (aged 31) Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, United States |
| Known for | Intelligent use of language |
| Owner | Irene Pepperberg |
Alex (May 18, 1976 – September 6, 2007)[1] was a grey parrot and the subject of a thirty-year experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard University and Brandeis University. When Alex was about one year old, Pepperberg bought him at a pet shop.[2] In her book "Alex & Me", Pepperberg describes her unique relationship with Alex and how Alex helped her understand animal minds.[3] Alex was an acronym for avian language experiment,[4] or avian learning experiment.[5]
Before Pepperberg's work with Alex, it was widely believed in the scientific community that a large primate brain was needed to handle complex problems related to language and understanding; birds were not considered to be intelligent, as their only common use of communication was mimicking and repeating sounds to interact with each other. However, Alex's accomplishments supported the idea that birds may be able to reason on a basic level and use words creatively.[6] Pepperberg wrote that Alex's intelligence was on a level similar to dolphins and great apes.[7] She also reported that Alex seemed to show the intelligence of a five-year-old human in some respects,[4] and had not reached his full potential by the time he died.[8] She believed that he possessed the emotional level of a two-year-old human at the time of his death.[9]
- ^ "The Alex Foundation". September 10, 2007. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2007.
- ^ Smith, Dinitia (October 9, 1999). "A Thinking Bird or Just Another Birdbrain?". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
- ^ "'Alex & Me': The Hidden World of Animal Minds". NPR.org.
- ^ a b Chandler, David (2007). "Farewell to a famous parrot". Nature. doi:10.1038/news070910-4. S2CID 177171845.
- ^ Pepperberg, Irene (2009). Alex & Me: how a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence and formed a deep bond in the process. Scribe Publications. ISBN 9781921372728.
- ^ Scientific American (12 September 2007), An Interview with Alex, the African Grey Parrot. sciam.com. Retrieved 12 September 2007. Archived 12 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Irene Pepperberg (1998), Talking with Alex: Logic and speech in parrots. Scientific American. Retrieved 12 September 2007 Archived March 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Bird Brain Dies After Years of Research". Associated Press via USA Today. September 11, 2007. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
Alex, a parrot that could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials, has died after 30 years of helping researchers better understand the avian brain.
- ^ "Alex the Parrot, an Apt Student, Passes Away". NPR. September 10, 2007. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2009.