Do parrots just imitate what they hear around them or can they form their own sentences based off what they hear and think?
In: Biology
*For the most part* they have no “understanding” of the words they speak, at least as far as you and I would conceptualize it. It’s sound, not words.
However, there’s been some research done that suggests some parrots, especially macaws, are more intelligent than we think. While they do not understand words, they can recognize emotional states and can learn to associate certain phrases uttered when in an emotional state, and use those expressions to convey a sense of emotion. Meaning if it hears you “make a sound” when it perceives you as sad or depressed, then this is the sound of depression, and will vocalize that sound when in that emotional state.
It’s mimicry. But it might not be entirely random mimicry.
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