The researchers wanted to see if parrots could be taught to independently make and receive video calls to help with lonliness (Picture: Sky Armstrong)
It looks like parrots are capable of forming ‘strong social relationships’ online just like humans, according to a new study.
The findings are drawn from more than 1,000 hours of video observations of 18 pet parrots’ behaviour.
In the study, animal-computer interaction researchers from Scotland and America helped pet parrots make video calls to each other over Facebook Messenger.
The collaborative study between researchers from Northeastern University, MIT and the University of Glasgow, found that the birds showed improved behaviour and well-being over a three month period.
Results suggested that these birds benefitted from making new feathered friends over the internet.
Looks like it’s not just humans that are capable of forming relationships online but parrots as well (Picture: Sky Armstrong)
During this time the birds learned new skills, including making the video calls independently and even flying.
The researchers wanted to see if parrots, which are typically intelligent and highly social birds, could be taught to independently make and receive video calls to help with loneliness.
In the wild, many species of parrots live in large flocks, but in captivity, they tend to be kept on their own or in small groups. Parrots are also prone to incurable diseases which are transferable which reduce their opportunities to socialise in person.
Isolation and boredom can cause birds to develop psychological problems, which can manifest as rocking, excessive pacing, or self-harming behaviours like feather-plucking.
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‘This is the first study investigating what the animal-to-animal internet looks like beyond humans,’ said Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, from the University of Glasgow and one of the authors of the paper.
‘It opens up the possibilities of what it looks like for animals to connect to others of their species,’
Dr Hirskyj-Douglas believes that this study demonstrates that when given access to the internet to connect, animals would use it in ‘different beautiful ways’.
The study suggests that video calling technology could help tackle lonliness in animals, quite similar to self-isolating humans in the early days of the pandemic.
During this time the birds learned new skills, including making the video calls independently and even flying (Picture: Sky Armstrong)
‘Technology has the possibility of opening up connections between animals when it may not be possible to be together,’ said Dr Hirskyj-Douglas.
Over two weeks, the birds were taught to call other birds at their own will by ringing a bell and selecting the bird they wanted to call.
‘This two-step selection was also crucial to evidence strong corroboration, ensuring that the calls were not random, or simply based on the birds liking the bell,’ said Dr Rébecca Kleinberger, from Northeastern University, a co-author on the study.
Over the following two months, 147 deliberate calls were made by the birds, assisted by their caregivers.
‘Their behaviour often mirrored what we would expect from real-life interactions between these types of birds. We saw birds learn to forage for the first time, and one caregiver reported that their bird flew for the first time after making a call,’ said Dr Jennifer Cunha, from Northeastern University, another co-author on the study.
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Because parrots get lonely too.