Animal of the Month: January January 7, 2009
Posted by bsciencecenter in Uncategorized.trackback
African Grey Parrot
Name: Crystal
Gender: Female
Age: 9 years old
Hobbies: Watching TV, listening to the radio, eating peanuts
Crystal was given to Science Center from U.S. Fish and Wildlife in 2001. She was taken from her mother in Africa to be sold in the pet trade and confiscated coming into the country at an airport. These parrots can sell for over one thousand dollars.
Crystal visits Burlington classrooms throughout the school year. The Science Center uses her in many educational programs, focusing on the characteristics of birds and animal adaptations.
African Grey parrots are known to be some of the most intelligent animal species. They have amazing vocabulary and voice mimicry skills. Check out the link below to watch an AMAZING African Grey parrot on the Animal Planet show “Pet Star.”
http://animal.discovery.com/beyond/index.html?playerId=203719213&categoryId=210013718
At Harvard University, Dr. Irene Pepperberg has done many psychological studies on the intelligence of African Grey Parrots. Check out the website below:
http://www.alexfoundation.org/Alex_and_me.html
To learn more about African Grey Parrots:
http://www.waza.org/virtualzoo/factsheet.php?id=218-003-055-001&view=Psittaciformes
Fascinating story on parrot communication. Science Center blog readers might like to visit the exhibition at Harvard on how animals communicate with color.. Language of Color. Tour the exhibit with Harvard professor Dr. Hopi Hoekstra in an online video..Language of Color: Tour the exhibit online at http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/11/animals-speak-color.html
Sign up for the museum’s free email list for notice of family events and new exhibitions, http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu