REPRODUCTION OF INARTICULATE SOUNDS 

 IN THE PARROT 1 



K. S. LASHLEY 



During the past winter I had a brief opportunity to observe 

 and experiment upon an Amazon parrot which shows a rather 

 exceptional responsiveness to the actions of his human com- 

 panions. The experiments are incomplete and in many ways 

 unsatisfactory but as it is not probable that further observa- 

 tions can be made for some time it seems best to record such 

 data as are at hand, since they offer a rather striking example 

 of the extent to which circular imitation may be developed in 

 these birds. 



The bird studied, a large Amazon (Chrysotis sp.) was im- 

 ported in 1892 when about six months old, and since that time 

 has been kept as a pet in a small family. No regular method 

 of training has ever been employed and no records of his be- 

 havior have been kept. When about nine months old he began 

 to talk and during the past ten years his vocabulary has varied 

 from 50 to 100 distinctly articulated words. At present he 

 speaks some 60 words singly and combined in various phrases. 



Besides these words, he gives a number of inarticulate sounds 

 which are distinguishable from the instinctive notes of his spe- 

 cies. He "sings, whistles, barks, mews, cackles, coughs" and 

 gabbles an endless jargon of meaningless syllables with rising 

 and falling inflections, reproducing the sound of a man's voice 

 heard indistinctly. These sounds are sometimes given spon- 

 taneously but are more often called forth by some stimulus; 

 visual, as when the bird mews at the sight of a cat; or, more 

 frequently, auditory, as when he repeats the cat's mewing. In 

 this they differ from all of his articulate sounds which are almost 

 never given in repetition of auditory stimulation. The inartic- 

 ulate sounds thus offer the best material for expeiiment, both 

 because they are given in response to auditory stimulation, and 

 because their wide qualitative range lessens the danger of false 

 interpretation by the observer. 



1 From the Psychological Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. 



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