Parrots are famous for their ability to imitate human speech, but could they also be using names the way people do? A new study suggests the answer may be yes.
Instead of traveling to tropical habitats to record wild parrots, as researchers have done in previous studies, Lauryn Benedict, a biology professor at the University of Northern Colorado, took a different approach. She focused on parrots living alongside humans, birds that regularly hear and repeat words, including people’s names.
Working with longtime collaborator Christine Dahlin of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and researchers from Austria, Benedict examined vocal recordings from more than 880 captive parrots. The team found many examples of birds using names in ways that appeared similar to how humans identify specific individuals. They also uncovered some surprising patterns in how parrots used those names.
The findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Why Names Matter in Social Communication
For people, names help organize and navigate complex social relationships. Many animals also produce sounds that may serve a similar purpose, helping them recognize or address specific individuals.
Researchers have long investigated these types of vocal signals in animals. However, Dahlin cautioned against drawing direct comparisons to human naming systems.
“We cannot conclude that they are analogous to human names both because animals signals are often so different and because we don’t understand the full intent behind the signals.”
Studying Hundreds of Captive Parrots
To explore the question, the researchers turned to data from the ManyParrots project, a collaborative network that studies parrot learning, cognition, and vocal behavior through surveys and audio recordings.
The team analyzed survey information from more than 889 parrots. In some cases, survey participants provided additional details that helped researchers better understand the context in which the birds were using names.
Nearly half of the participants submitted examples of parrots saying names. Among the 413 recordings that included name use, 88 appeared to show parrots using names as labels for particular people or animals.
The researchers also found strong evidence that some parrots were not simply applying names to broad groups such as “people.” Instead, they seemed to associate certain names with a specific individual.
More Than Simple Mimicry
The recordings revealed that parrots do not always use names the way humans do.
For example, some birds repeatedly said their own names as a way of attracting attention. This suggests that parrots may adapt and use names for different social purposes depending on the situation.
According to Dahlin, the findings indicate that parrots possess both the cognitive abilities and vocal skills needed to use names in a variety of ways. These uses may include communicating directly with people and even referring to someone who is not currently present.
At the same time, the results highlight how much remains unknown. Differences between species, and even among individual birds within the same species, raise important questions about when, how, and why animals use vocal signals to identify or refer to other individuals by name.
This work was funded in part by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) project ANIML (LS23-014) to MH. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.