Parrots, and the Science of their Copying

For National Bird Day, this will be the post!

One has to wonder, why do parrots copy the sounds other animals make?

As it turns out, it is likely a result of being wired to be taught how to "speak" by parrot parents, and not having their vocalizations instinctively wired like many other birds do.  Indeed, a comparison of "parroting" can be made to human speech.  Parrots are not the only birds that do this, as I once whistled the Cantina theme from Star Wars and got multiple wild Mockingbirds to join in the chorus.

What gets parrots to do this is that like Mockingbirds but unlike many birds, the region that controls speech is generally the same one that controls motor movements.  Thus, for them, vocalizations are a very deliberate action, just like with humans, but this also means that baby parrots have to learn how to talk, just like humans do.

As for why they specifically choose to imitate us, try to imagine yourself as a creature surrounded by parrots.  Wouldn't you eventually be going "BAWAWWK!!"? You would do as they do, but parrots are as prone to copying as humans are because their brains make this a necessacity.

Parrots are worth studying for this, because this teaches us about our own complex social communication, and could provide answers to how our brains work.