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Comment by zw123456 | Hacker News Reader

So why can parrots be taught to speak? Of course they do not understand what they are saying but they can be trained to say words. Monkeys can be trained to do some pretty complex things in comparison to what a bird can do, it seems to me monkeys are smarter than birds. So it seems like there is some other part of the explanation that is not completely figured out here.

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> "Monkeys can be trained to do some pretty complex things in comparison to what a bird can do, it seems to me monkeys are smarter than birds."

Crows are likely on par with chimps and dolphins for intelligence by creating their own tools in the wild and other intelligent behavior (language, facial recognition, passing on knowledge).

Parrots such as African Greys and cockatoos are right up there too with problem solving abilities. I know cockatoos can be trained to "pick locks" and then pass on the knowledge to other cockatoos.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/science/nature/8631486.stm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/avian-einsteins/201207/...

http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/bird...

https://youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/brain/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/23150941

https://www.google.com/search?q=canuck+the+crow&ie=utf-8&oe=...

African grey parrots are similarly intelligent, and appear to be socially complex as well.

Yup, Alex the African Grey is a great example.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)

>not understand what they are saying but they can be trained to say words.

Not necessarily true.

http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatbirdblog/2011/06/10/do-par...

Edit: fix link

I think you've posted the wrong link...

Thank you

I don't see the relevance. Great album though.

Yeah, sorry. I corrected the link.

Now I want to know what the album was

King Crimson's album, In the Court of the Crimson King.

Could have almost been relevant if it were Larks' Tongues in Aspic.

OK, I stand corrected, maybe parrots understand what they are saying, but the core of my question is why can parrots speak and monkeys cannot?

I would guess it has to do with complex vocalizations and verbal language being of more importance to birds than most monkeys perhaps? Parrots and corvidaes (crows and jays) learn to understand and speak human words as an attempt to "fit in" and communicate with their group (in captivity that would be us). In the wild, they speak with the chirps and calls that other parrots and corvidaes make. For example, there is a type of parrot that gives a unique chirp to each of its children to refer to them like a name[1]. Crows and parrots can be miles apart at times so that's my guess for verbal language being of more importance to them than other forms of communication. They also have a dialect they speak when near each other and then the more common calls most of us hear when they're farther apart[2].

I know much more about birds than primates, so correct me if I'm wrong. Birds tend to be around people in captivity much more than monkeys, so guessing that may be part of the reason as well.

[1] http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2011/07/parrots-learn-th...

[2] http://www.crows.net/language.html

Parrots can definitely understand words.

Alex the parrot could communicate.

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