The Indelible Bonobo Experience

Parrots are among a handful of animal families that possess an aptitude for vocal learning, meaning that they can form new sounds based on experience. (via Stuff, Slate)

• Most types of birds, and many other animals, are hard-wired to make a few specific calls, perhaps with slight variations. A mourning dove, for example, pretty much always sings like a mourning dove. But parrots and mockingbirds, among others, can tailor their utterances to their audience.
• In the wild, flocks of parrots don’t talk like people, but they do seem to develop distinct local dialects, and mated pairs may even sing unique duets.
• It’s unclear exactly why they evolved this capability, but research suggests they use it to tell members of their group apart from members of rival groups.
• Birds seem more likely to respond to calls that are familiar to their own, and they ostracise individuals that don’t speak their language, so to speak. This may allow them to keep untrustworthy newcomers from joining their clan. But if the dialects do serve as a form of immigration control, learning the language seems to be a path to citizenship.
• In one experiment, a group of parrots from one Costa Rican flock was transplanted to a more northerly flock that showed different vocalisation patterns. About half flew right back home, but the rest stayed and formed a sort of immigrant enclave with its own dialect. One even learned the northern tongue and ingratiated itself with locals.
• According to this theory, birds that are raised in captivity might mimic their human owners as a way of gaining acceptance as a member of the family. If they hear ”pretty bird” a lot, they’ll interpret that as a call distinct to their flock, and try making it themselves. If the parrot gets no response when she squawks, but gets lots of attention or treats when she makes human-like noises, she has an extra incentive to practice forming words and phrases.
• A lost parakeet in Japan was returned safely to its owner last week after it told police its home address. Why do captive birds mimic human speech, and how do they decide what to say?

NEARLY a quarter of Spain’s workforce—and roughly half of Spain’s young people—have no jobs. Unemployment rates in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, by contrast, are dramatically lower. When Americans are faced with depressed labour markets, many saddle up in search of work. But Europeans are far less likely to uproot, both within borders and, especially, across them (see chart). There is an obvious reason for that: Europe’s linguistic diversity. Language matters. In Canada, for example, mobility is much higher across the country as a whole than it is between French-speaking Quebec and the English-speaking provinces and territories. An analysis of European language borders, by Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln of Goethe University Frankfurt and Kevin Bartz of Harvard University, concludes that language hurdles are better predictors of low mobility than national borders. Europe’s demography also counts. Migration does less good to older workers, who have fewer working years ahead of them in which to benefit from moving. (via Building euro-zone competitiveness: Mobile moans | The Economist)