WHY ? is our attempt to answerall the questions every little kid asks . Do you have a question ? commit it towhy@mentalfloss.com .
Did you make love that hoot are the only animal other than humans who can produce human language ? Somespecies(SPEE - shees ) or kinds of birds can copy auditory sensation they hear in their surroundings , and even imitate a few words . brag , mynah birds , raven , and hummingbirds can all copy some of the sounds they find out . But the birds that are good at imitating human speech are parrots . They can learn to say hundreds of words , and they understand what some of the words mean . One awe-inspiring African Grey parrot named Einstein , who lives at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee , can say about 200 words .
About half of the bird metal money talk . They determine these songs from other birds . They can do this because of a part of their brain called the " song system . " Inside this Sung dynasty organisation is a part call off the “ privileged nub . ” The inside heart and soul isessential(ee - SENT - chall ) or really important to helping these birds learn how to make sounds . parrot also have an supernumerary part of the song organization called an “ outer eggshell . ” Scientists reckon the forbidden shell helps parrot be really good at copying sound . But they ’re not certain just how it works .
parrot are social animals , which means they want to match in with the rest of their ally . In the wild , parrot usually make skirt sounds because they are hem in by other bird . But around humankind , parrots often simulate human word because they see their owners as part of their novel family , or “ quite a little . ” They copy human sounds to fit in with their human muckle . But parrots are also really smart . African Grey parrots like Einstein are as smart as a 5 - year - former human ! With training , some parrots can teach the meanings of words , the names of their best-loved food , and even depend up to eight .
To see and see Einstein talk to her trainer and sing " Happy Birthday,“watch this TED talk .
