naturebriefs
9:58in productionCh. 1 · Number talk/ 9:58 · ceiling 15 min
Birds

Grey parrot

A parrot that adds numbers, shares nuts, and mimics bats—then vanishes from entire countries.

Grey parrot

BirdsBirdsIntelligenceConservatismBirds across the network →
Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:20
    Number talk

    It performs arithmetic and zero-like reasoning—on par with apes and young children.

  2. 2:58
    Voice and virtue

    Its wild vocal repertoire exceeds 200 calls—including nine other birds and a bat—and it shares food altruistically.

  3. 4:28
    Footedness and collapse

    Right-footed parrots have larger vocabularies. A 2015 study found it virtually eliminated from Ghana.

  4. 6:08
    Altruism in feathers

    It is one of the smartest bird species—and the only one shown to give food to a partner at its own expense.

Worth your time?

Yes. See the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • learns number sequences
  • associates human voices with faces
  • imitates wild birds and bats in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • gives nuts to conspecifics even at personal cost
What does not
  • survive well in fragmented forest
  • persist where trade and hunting are unregulated
  • remain detectable across much of its former range
See it if
  • field biologists
  • conservation practitioners
  • cognitive ethologists
Skip it if
  • casual birdwatchers expecting easy sightings
The written brief1 min read

What the species is and where it came from

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is an African parrot native to equatorial Africa. It inhabits dense forests and adjacent vegetation.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

It learns number sequences. It associates human voices with faces. It imitates wild birds and bats in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It gives nuts to conspecifics even at personal cost.

What it gets right

It gets social intelligence right: choosing partners, sharing food, recognising individuals by voice and face, and using mimicry for functional communication—not just display.

What it does not

It does not survive well in fragmented forest. It does not persist where trade and hunting are unregulated. It has been virtually eliminated from Ghana.

What it changed

It redefined avian cognition: showing zero-like concepts, referential communication, and numerical competence once thought exclusive to primates and young children.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for field biologists, conservation practitioners, and cognitive ethologists. It is not for casual birdwatchers expecting easy sightings—its wild populations are now critically depleted across much of its range.

Is it worth your time

Yes—if you want to see an animal that adds numbers, shares food altruistically, and holds a vocal repertoire exceeding 200 calls in the wild.

Same habitat · Birds4 of 41
9:54
Red-crowned craneThe red-crowned crane is a large, rare, Northeast Asian crane. It is the heaviest crane species on average. It forages by jabbing into mud and striking like a heron. Its red crown patch brightens in mating season. Rice is essential for wintering birds in Japan. Its plant diet is selective—high in crude protein, low in crude fibre. It is classified as Endangered by the IUCN due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
8:50
PeafowlPeafowl are central to sexual selection theory because their train has been experimentally manipulated and observed across contexts — but findings conflict between controlled experiments and long-term field studies.
10:07
SecretarybirdThe secretarybird is a terrestrial raptor of sub-Saharan Africa. It hunts on foot. It kills by stomping. It requires open grassland. It is now endangered. Its decline is driven by habitat loss—not persecution, not trade, not disease.
9:53
Adélie penguinThe Adélie penguin is a seabird endemic to the Antarctic coast. It is the most widespread penguin in the region. It evolved 19 million years ago. It has two distinct genetic lineages. It was first collected and described by French naval naturalists in 1841. Its presence maps sea-ice health across the continent.
Up next in Nature

Antelope Canyon

· 8:09

A beautiful trap shaped by water that kills without warning.

Play nextBack to Birds
8:09