Parrots turned out to be big fans of video conferencing

Researchers from Glasgow University conducted a series of experiments to teach parrots to use video communication. In the wild, parrots live in large flocks, they are collective, social creatures for which contact with relatives is important, which is not the case in cages. In addition, parrots are some of the most intelligent and quickly learnable birds.

The experiment involved 15 birds, which previously had no contact with each other. They were trained to ring a bell to be turned on a video communication app on a tablet. The duration of the session was determined by the birds themselves – on average, they spent up to five minutes at the screen.

It turned out that parrots quickly realize that they see not an abstract image and not their reflection, but other birds. Therefore, they immediately began to interact with each other with the help of gestures and sounds. Parrots learned to recognize other birds, they also learned new things, for example, the adult parrot showed the young one how to crack hard nuts through a video link. Many of the participants of the experiment expressed a desire to continue it, so as not to deprive the pets of a new entertainment.