鸚鵡們最著名的伎倆當(dāng)然是模仿人類說話，但最近的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn),，它們似乎有著其它未被人注意到的才能,。科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn),，非洲灰鸚鵡在推理方面能夠達(dá)到一個(gè)人類四歲孩子的水準(zhǔn),。
非洲灰鸚鵡在推理方面能夠達(dá)到一個(gè)人類四歲孩子的水準(zhǔn)
據(jù)國(guó)外媒體報(bào)道，研究中科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)非洲灰鸚鵡能夠運(yùn)用之前認(rèn)為只有人類和類人猿才有的排除法來找到隱藏的食物位置,，這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)意味著鸚鵡或許也能歸類入動(dòng)物界的“智能巔峰”一族,。試驗(yàn)是在奧地利一家救援中心內(nèi)，通過測(cè)試7只年齡在7至25歲間的非洲灰鸚鵡而完成的,。
參與此項(xiàng)研究的維也納大學(xué)(Vienna University)科學(xué)家桑德拉(Sandra Mikolasch)說：“兩個(gè)不同但同樣對(duì)非洲灰鸚鵡具有吸引力的食物被研究人員放在兩個(gè)不透明的杯子下面,，之后實(shí)驗(yàn)者悄悄取走其中一個(gè)食物并展示給鸚鵡看，然后把兩只杯子放到鸚鵡的面前,。”
如果非洲灰鸚鵡純粹靠猜測(cè),，他們選擇到有食物杯子的機(jī)會(huì)應(yīng)該只有一半，人們起先認(rèn)為它們并不能夠判斷出食物究竟在哪里,。但在漫長(zhǎng)的實(shí)驗(yàn)過程中,，一只鸚鵡的表現(xiàn)有著統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué)意義——它選擇到了有食物的那個(gè)杯子。
研究人員將實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果發(fā)表在英國(guó)皇家學(xué)會(huì)《生物書簡(jiǎn)》(the Royal Society journal Biology Letters)中,，研究人員表示這只鳥是通過看到被取出的食物,，利用排除法推測(cè)出哪個(gè)杯子是有食物的。在此前,，只有猩猩被證明在相同的實(shí)驗(yàn)中能夠運(yùn)用邏輯推理能力,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Biology Letters DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0500
African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) use inference by exclusion to find hidden food
Sandra Mikolasch, Kurt Kotrschal and Christian Schloegl
Exclusion allows the detection of hidden food when confronted with the choice between an empty and a potentially baited food location. However, exclusion may be based on avoidance of the empty location without drawing inferences about the presence of the food in the baited location. So far, such inferences have been demonstrated in the great apes only: after seeing an experimenter eating one of two food types, which both had been hidden previously in two boxes, the apes were able to choose the box that still contained the other food type. African grey parrots are capable of exclusion, and we here assessed if they are capable of inference by exclusion. In our task, two different but equally preferred food items were hidden in full view of the birds under two opaque cups. Then, an experimenter secretly removed one food type and showed it to the bird. Similarly to the apes, one out of seven parrots significantly preferred the baited cup; control conditions rule out that its choice was based on associative learning or the use of olfactory cues. Thus, we conclude that—like the apes—some grey parrots are able to infer the location of a hidden food reward.
