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Shared calls in repertoires of two locally distant gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus)

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Abstract

Parrots belong to the handful of animal species capable of vocal production learning. They are considered to be open-ended learners with complex and variable vocalizations. It is not known, however, to what extent their repertoires are shared among individuals within a group or between vocally isolated individuals or groups. In study 1, we mapped the repertoire of four captive African gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus) using a combination of three acoustic analyses. In study 2, we compared the repertoire of two female African gray parrots from two different laboratories who had never been in vocal contact with each other or any member of the other parrot’s social group. Results of study 1 showed a relatively large agreement between all three methods used to analyze the vocalizations. Almost three quarters (72.8%) of categories determined by visual-acoustic analysis were confirmed by at least one of the two computer-aided methods used, i.e., by spectrographic cross-correlation and/or a multiparametric statistical method. In study 2, we found a relatively large proportion of calls shared between the repertoires of the two gray parrot subjects. Over half and over a fourth of calls produced by parrots with the smaller and the larger repertoire, respectively, were shared between the two. No previous study identified such a large proportion of intergroup shared calls within this parrot species. It seems that some calls tend to reappear in vocally isolated groups based on inherited predispositions, similarly as has been documented in songbirds.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Anna Pilátová, Ph.D., for her suggestions on improving the manuscript. We also thank Denisa Kovácsová, Katarina Prikrylová, and others for taking care of parrots in the Czech laboratory. This study was supported by The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports – Institutional Support for Longterm Development of Research Organizations – Charles University, Faculty of Humanities (2019), the Charles University Grant Agency (GAUK 822119), and Specific Academic Research Projects 2019 of the Charles University, Faculty of Humanities, No. 260 469. All experiments comply with Czech and French legislation concerning animal care.

Funding

Funding for the French laboratory was provided by the 6th PCRD Nest Pathfinder “What it means to be human.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Pátkova 2137/5, 182 00, Prague 8, Czech Republic

    Tereza Roubalová & Jitka Lindová

  2. Neuroscience Paris Saclay Institute, UMR9197 CNRS, Université Paris Sud, Université Paris Saclay, 91400, Orsay, France

    Nicolas Giret

  3. Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, UPL, Univ Paris Nanterre, F92000, Nanterre, France

    Dalila Bovet

  4. Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00, Prague-Uhříněves, Czech Republic

    Richard Policht

  5. Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    Richard Policht

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  1. Tereza Roubalová
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Correspondence to Tereza Roubalová.

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Roubalová, T., Giret, N., Bovet, D. et al. Shared calls in repertoires of two locally distant gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus). acta ethol 23, 155–171 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-020-00350-x

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