But people who own parrots have been actively rewarding mimicking speech since probably the beginning. That’s how you get parrots to say different things depending on what they want.
Parrots’ ability to mimick not just birds but other animals have been known for ages and is one of the things that define the taxon. I’m sure the first person to hear them repeat human speech was surprised but knew what was going on.
Don’t they just naturally repeat sounds they hear in their environment?
It’s one of the ways they socialize: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gds1qIV1oiE
But people who own parrots have been actively rewarding mimicking speech since probably the beginning. That’s how you get parrots to say different things depending on what they want.
But where would you get the idea from if not after hearing a parrot say a word?
Parrots’ ability to mimick not just birds but other animals have been known for ages and is one of the things that define the taxon. I’m sure the first person to hear them repeat human speech was surprised but knew what was going on.