Irish Examiner view: Polly phones a friend

Lonely parrots

It’s long been known that some birds are adept at imitating the human voice, although whether their vocabulary is sufficiently wide to encompass the swearing Irish parrot that gained wide circulation on social media, or to be able to say “Polly wants a cracker” is open to doubt.

But new research which tested whether pets would benefit by being able to communicate with others by video calling them has concluded that stress is reduced when they can phone a friend.

Scientists at the University of Glasgow who were studying the consequences of covid-19 isolation upon individuals wondered whether other species could suffer from lack of company. 

The project, which involved giving the birds a series of touchscreen options, found that making contact improved social behaviour including preening, singing and play.

The analysis, which included more than 1,000 hours of footage of 18 pet parrots, identified improvements in psychological problems which were manifested by repeated pacing, rocking back and forth, and self-harming such as feather-plucking.

Human participants in the research say they intend to continue to allow their pets to make calls. It’s not just ET who knows that it’s a good idea to phone home.