Parrots learn their 'names' from their parents
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 04:00
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- Parrots, which have long amused us for their ability to imitate our vocal patterns, actually learn to caw their "names" from their parents, says a new Cornell study. The research offers the first evidence that parrots learn their unique signature calls from their parents and shows that vocal signaling in wild parrots is a socially acquired rather than a genetically wired trait.