Alex the Talking Bird

This is pretty incredible stuff. I read an article about it while waiting for the dentist. This bird was trained to speak English as part of a study into animal cognition. He can do simple arithmetic, distinguish different colours, shapes, etc, and answer simple logic problems. He's even been known to say things like "what's your problem" and "I'm leaving now" at appropriate moments! Awesome!





Here's a couple of articles if you want to find out more:

http://caiqueclowns.blogspot.com/2008/10/cognition-and-talking-bird.html

http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12459697