From Karen Jones
In your discussion about the ability of animals to develop a vocabulary, you mention Alex the grey parrot, who could make sentences out of about 100 words (25 December 2010, p 8).
That Alex did more than parrot the words he learned is best exemplified by an exchange recounted by his trainer, Irene Pepperberg, in her book Alex and Me (Harper, 2008, p 154). Fuming after a frustrating meeting, Pepperberg stormed silently into the lab where Alex was housed. Instead of his usual whistled greeting, Alex looked at his trainer and said, “Calm down.”
Alex’s response suggests a keen perception of non-verbal cues and an ability to produce, at least occasionally, a wonderfully appropriate verbalisation.
Amherst, Massachusetts, US
