Lost and Found!

We came across an inspiring news story last week about a grey African parrot named Yosuke, who lives near Tokyo. Yosuke flew out of the house, and couldn't find his way back home. Luckily, he was not eaten by a hawk or an owl, but rescued by the police from a roof. The police took him to a local vet hospital, where he gave the vet his full name and address, and then went home to a tender reunion! The policeman interviewed seemed amazed at his knowing to give his name and address, which is silly. All psittacines are remarkable linguists. Consider the characterization of Polynesia the Parrot in the "Dr. Doolittle" books. Humans tend to credit parrots only when they speak a human language, and then claim the performance as mimicry! We know what we're saying--its just very hard to speak any human language through a beak. I don't speak a human language, but I am fluent in Budgie, Robin, House Wren, Cardinal, Crow, Woodpecker dialects, Canary, Lovebird, Red Winged Blackbird, and the trash-bird languages (ie, starling and grackle).
Geoffrey