Alex the parrot

tags: Irene Pepperberg, Alex, Alex the African grey parrot, talking parrot, cognition, behavior, streaming video As you know, I went to Irene Pepperberg's reading last night from her new book about her friend and colleague, Alex the African grey parrot. This is an interesting video interview with Pepperberg about Alex, shortly after he died [3:29]
tags: African grey parrot, Alex the parrot, Alex & Me, ethology, cognition, learning, parrots, Irene Pepperberg, books I am attending a book tour reading by researcher, Irene Pepperberg, that is promoting her new book, Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence -- and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, this Sunday evening, 2 November, in NYC. I have been trying to arrange an interview with her, and still have no idea if it will happen, but if I do manage to interview her, what questions would you like to ask her? Unfortunately, even…
tags: Alex And Me: A 30-Year Adventure, Alex & Me: Lessons from a Little Bird with a Big Heart, ethology, cognition, learning, parrots, Irene Pepperberg, book review As a scientist, parrot researcher, aviculturist and parrot companion, I have met Irene Pepperberg several times, at both scientific meetings and also at avicultural meetings, and I have followed her research closely (but quietly) for most of my life. So, when Seed Media, which houses all of ScienceBlogs, asked me if I wanted to read and review Pepperberg's upcoming book, Alex & Me: Lessons from a Little Bird with a Big…
The pathology tests are finally back regarding the sudden death of Alex the Congo African Grey parrot. Alex died quickly. He had a sudden, unexpected catastrophic event associated with arterosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"). It was either a fatal arrhythmia, heart attack or stroke, which caused him to die suddenly with appparently no suffering. There was no way to predict his demise. All of his tests, including his cholesterol level and aspergillosis levels, came back normal earlier that week. His death could not be connected to his current diet or his age; the veterinarian said that…