A new study explores the complex social structure of quaker parrots, revealing a few surprises along the way.
Natalie Voss
In a recently-released study from New Mexico State University and the USDA/APHIS National Wildlife Research Center, scientists explored parakeet cliques, gossip and “bromances.”
Dr. Elizabeth Hobson, now a postdoctoral fellow at National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, orchestrated the study while at New Mexico State University. She and her team studied captive and wild populations of quaker parrots/monk parakeets in order to learn more about how the birds related to each other. The research team observed the groups for three months, recording the individuals’ behavior and interactions. At the end, the scientists had learned a few things that surprised them, according to Hobson.
One element of the study examined the well-known tendency of the birds to bond closely with their mates. In fact, researchers found that pairs were a fundamental part of the parakeets’ social structure, but those pairs were not always breeding-oriented.
I think the popular term right now is ‘bromance.’ They’re interacting really frequently with that individual, but there’s nothing reproductive going on there.”
Some birds formed closely-bonded threesomes in a similar fashion. A minority preferred to fly solo.
Much like high schoolers in a cafeteria, the researchers also observed the birds breaking and reforming their social groups in a process called “fission and fusion.” This modeling and remodeling happens frequently — not just hour by hour, but even from minute to minute in some cases, according to Hobson. Groups that were perching or eating together would split, join with others, split again, and come back together later. But the splits weren’t always the result of a squabble — in fact, the reasons may not have been ‘personal’ at all.
“If one bird is hungrier than another bird, that might be enough justification for one to stay at the nest and the other to go with a foraging group. Probably the fission and fusion is allowing them to get the resources they need, without having to worry about the predation they would if they were alone.”
Hobson and her team learned that outside those pairs and trios, the parakeets had a hierarchical organization to their group, much like other species that travel in packs or herds. The parakeets developed leaders and followers, although leaders, mid-ranking birds and followers were not very sharply defined. That type of social structure occurs across the animal kingdom, “from hermit crabs to humans,” Hobson said.
To the scientists’ surprise, it didn’t seem those groups were sharing information about food and other resources, at least not verbally — a group flying by might land by a foraging group, but often there was no calling between them. The social structure indicated by the research could also speak to a high level of intelligence in parrots (a trait that is no surprise to those who interact with them on a regular basis). We already know the birds have relatively large brains compared to their body size, but their sense of memory amidst their fission and fusion is another indicator of how smart they are. The parakeets have to remember each other during periods where they don’t see or hear one another—one of the traits used to mark intelligence in other species.
Besides noting their intelligence, Hobson said the study could have implications for owners of pet birds, as well.
Understanding more about the sociality of the birds and the underlying cognition, and how much they’re thinking about their social relationships and processing that information could be useful, according to Hobson. ”
If the owners don’t want to put in the effort of that kind of bond with the parrot, it might be a good idea to have two[birds], so they don’t have to serve that social role with their pet.”
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