Just How Cognitively Aware Are Parrots?

[Roma_Victrix]

That's pretty incredible how they can respond and give correct answers to various questions. I sometimes wonder how a dolphin would fare in the same situations if it had the ability to mimic human speech patterns.

Just how aware of things do you think parrots really are compared to the other smartest species? I would say the great apes, like gorillas using sign language for instance, have displayed a lot more social intelligence than parrots (ability to empathize with others, share things, etc.), but I could be wrong. Dolphins, great apes, and parrots all display relatively excellent abilities in memorization, but which one is the most impressive and noteworthy compared to humans?

[sumskilz]

I would say the great apes, like gorillas using sign language for instance, have displayed a lot more social intelligence than parrots (ability to empathize with others, share things, etc.), but I could be wrong.

This is tough to say. Parrot intelligence evolved separately from ours, while ape intelligence is very similar. It may just be easier to recognize our own ways of thinking in apes. The more similar the brain, the easier it is to empathize. Maybe it's harder for us to empathize with parrots. It might be natural for them to seem a little autistic to us, but they may pick up on all sorts of social signals from other parrots we haven't fully recognized. Irene Pepperberg's African Gray parrot named Alex may have had better math skills than any non-human primate: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...atical-genius/