Rocco, an African Grey parrot, adores his owner’s Amazon Alexa.
And we totally get it, who doesn’t love Alexa?
Rocco resides close to Oxford in the United Kingdom and his favorite thing to do?
You guessed it. Order items off Alexa when is owner isn’t there.
I knew parrots were smart, but Rocco just took it to a whole new level.
Rocco’s owner, Marion Wischnewski, says that he loves to order berries especially, along with other snacks.
Wischnewski shared with the Sun how anything Rocco orders, Marion monitors and usually cancels.
“Rocco and Alexa chat away to each other all day. Then I have to check the shopping list and cancel all the items he’s ordered.”
Rocco is a bird of simple pleasures, usually ordering “strawberries, watermelon, raisins, broccoli and ice cream.” but in the past, he has been noted for ordering a kettle, light bulbs, and a kite.
Rocco truly beats to his own drum — as his previous home kicked him out for having a potty mouth i.e. using too many curse words.
Hey, I would be cursing too if what I ordered from Alexa didn’t show up at my door.
Wischenewski also shares how Rocco adores music — which makes Alexa even more attractive to the parrot.
“Often I come home from being out all day and find romantic music playing. And he loves a boogie with Alexa. But it has to be something fast, like his favourite Kings of Leon.”
You have to admit, the bird has great taste!
And after Rocco’s stunt — it makes one wonder, are birds actually as intelligent as we think they are?
Neuroscientists at the University of Alberta wanted to know more about bird’s intelligence, and have recently discovered a neural circuit that could explain it according to a new study.
The study reveals an example of convergent evolution between the brains of birds as well as primates — which leads to greater potential to understand human intelligence interestingly enough.
“An area of the brain that plays a major role in primate intelligence is called the pontine nuclei,” explained postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology, Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez. “This structure transfers information between the two largest areas of the brain, the cortex and cerebellum, which allows for higher-order processing and more sophisticated behaviour. In humans and primates, the pontine nuclei are large compared to other mammals. This makes sense given our cognitive abilities.”
According to Science Daily, birds are known for having very small pontine nuclei. They instead have a similar structure known as the medical spiriform nucleus or SpM.
Though it is located in a different part of the brain, the SpM does the exact same thing as the pontine nuclei — which circulates information between the cortex and the cerebellum.
“This loop between the cortex and the cerebellum is important for the planning and execution of sophisticated behaviours,” said Doug Wylie, professor of psychology and co-author on the new study.
“The SpM is very large in parrots. It’s actually two to five times larger in parrots than in other birds, like chickens,” said Gutierrez. “Independently, parrots have evolved an enlarged area that connects the cortex and the cerebellum, similar to primates. This is another fascinating example of convergence between parrots and primates. It starts with sophisticated behaviours, like tool use and self-awareness, and can also be seen in the brain. The more we look at the brains, the more similarities we see.”
…so maybe Rocco knew what he was doing after all!
NOW WATCH: Sweden Actually Turns It’s Garbage Into Energy | Save The World