‘Beaking’ News: Parrots prefer live video calls over watching pre-recorded content – a study has found.
New research suggests that parrots can identify the difference between chatting to their feathered friends on live video calls, compared to pre-recorded conversations.
The study, which was conducted by animal-computer interaction specialists at the University of Glasgow, gave tablet devices to nine parrots and their caretakers over a six-month period to investigate how video calls with one another might enrich the bird’s social lives.
Before the video call process was initiated, the parrots met each other through a Facebook meet and greet.
The animals were then trained to alert their owners when they wanted to engage in screen-time by ringing a bell that had been added to their enclosure three times per week for three-hour periods.
The system was designed to ensure each parrot could control the video call process entirely by themselves.
For example, if a parrot left their enclosure the call would end, or if there was a negative change in behaviour their owner would hang up.
For the first three months of the study the parrots engaged with one another via live video call and for the latter three months, they would watch pre-recorded content of birds they had previously been introduced to.
Researchers observed that the parrots were significantly less engaged with pre-recorded content and were more reactive to live video calls.
This suggests that the intelligent species may be able to tell the difference between the two.
Lead author, Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, who works at the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, said: “Animals using technology is nothing new, however technology is now becoming more popular in our homes, and we do video calls and things like this.
“The idea behind animal video calls was to look at how we can support animals who are left home alone, or animals that maybe potentially have not seen another one of their species, which is the case in parrots.
“Parrots in the wild live in these huge flocks with each other, they’re highly social and highly intelligent, however, often in people’s homes they’re kept on their own or maybe one or two which isn’t the same as in the wild, and so I really saw the technology here to connect two animals together.”
Research conducted previously by Dr Hirskyj-Douglas explores how video calling has the potential to reduce loneliness amongst the parrot population, and how they may benefit from playing interactive games on digital tablets.
It is hoped that the findings from the study will steer the course of the emerging ‘animal internet’, which encourages animals to engage and communicate with humans and fellow species’ in new, innovative ways.
