Toddlers and parrots share traits. Brainy birds can detect colors and shapes, manipulate items, construct enormous vocabularies, and vocalize their requirements at surprising levels.
Although active, clever, and curious, kids get bored without cognitive enrichment.
Pet parrot owners occasionally use the same method as parents: find the nearest screen.
Some owners use mobile games, sketching apps, and music-making tools for kids to entertain their birds.
Rébecca Kleinberger, a Northeastern University scientist who researches animal-technology interactions, said kids apps are popular.
Parrots use their mouths to interact with touch displays, thus human apps may not work for them. In a new study, Dr. Kleinberger and colleagues found unusual touch behaviors.
(The research was conducted by Northeastern University academics and University of Glasgow animal-computer interface lab director Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas.
It will be presented at a May conference but not published in a peer-reviewed publication.