Parrots learn to make friends through video calls: study

Polly wants an iPhone!

A group of parrots were taught to make video calls to other birds and the feathered squawkers wound up making close friendships — teaching each other to sing and even fly, according to new research.

The chirpy chatterboxes learned to use FaceTime and Zoom to gab with long-distance parrot pals by tapping a smartphone or tablet with their beaks, according to a study from Northeastern University.

Many of the 18 domesticated parrots bonded quickly through the screen and began ringing bells to signal when they wanted to call their feathered friends, researchers said.

“It’s been over a year and they still talk,” said Jennifer Cunha, a Northeastern researcher whose Florida-based cockatoo, Ellie, became close pals with an African grey named Cookie in California.

During the five-minute conversations, the platonic lovebirds taught each other skills ranging from foraging to new vocalizations and  flying, according to the study.

Other parrots who flocked giddily to each other included two sickly elderly male macaws —  neither of whom had ever met another macaw before the video call.

The buddy-buddy birdbrains began dancing and singing to each other, with one crowing,  “Hi! Come here! Hello!” when the other  moved out of the screen, according to researchers.

Researchers behind the three-month study, conducted in collaboration with MIT and the University of Glasgow,  investigated if the video calls would help mimic the birds’ communication in the wild and improve their quality of life.

Caretakers largely reported the calls as positive experiences for their parrots, with the birds tapping  photos on the screen  to call their friends of choice. 

In total, fifteen birds completed the full study and three dropped out early on.

In most cases, during the conversations, the parrots squawked with delight, bobbed their heads and stayed on the line for the maximum allotted time of five minutes.

“We’re not saying you can make them as happy as they would be in the wild,” said Rébecca Kleinberger, an assistant professor at Northeastern. “We’re trying to serve those who are already [in captivity].”