About This Project

Parrots can "talk" like humans. However, whether their complex vocalizations follow syntactic rules and convey semantic meanings remains unclear. We propose to address this question by using the latest wireless methods to simultaneously record vocalizations, social events, and physiology of all birds in a complex social network. We will then use deep learning to map the bird’s vocalizations to its physiology and social experiences, a long-held dream of animal communication researchers.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Parrots can imitate thousands of human words throughout their life. This extremely rare capacity stems from their complex communication system and social dynamics when they interact with each other. Our research team is fascinated by budgerigars, a small parrot, and their warble songs. Superficially, warbles possess many features of human language, e.g. combinatorial syllable construction and non-repetitive improvisation. However, it remains unclear if warbles follow certain syntactic rules and convey semantic meanings. We propose that to understand the meanings and functions of warble, we need to observe the birds’ natural interaction in a complex social network, record all salient events, then map the vocalizations of each bird to its physiology and personal experiences.

What is the significance of this project?

Animals evolve sophisticated communication systems to interact with each other. Therefore, to properly understand the meanings of their communication signals, we need to study them in their social network and keep track of all the salient events that happen to each animal. Field researchers adopt this approach, but it’s challenging to be comprehensive. Budgerigars present a unique opportunity because they readily form natural and complex social relationships in human environments. With the latest wireless recording methods and deep learning algorithms, it now becomes possible to simultaneously record vocalizations, social events, and physiology of all birds in a complex network. We are able to ask fundamental questions such as how personal experiences shape the social signals.

What are the goals of the project?

We are developing a novel wireless backpack system to resolve vocalizations produced by each bird in a complex social network, and monitor its physiology at the same time. We will assemble semi-natural groups (5-10 birds) of budgerigars in flight cages, with each bird wearing a wireless backpack to record its vocalizations and physiology. We will use high-resolution cameras to track all social events that happen to each bird in the group and changes in the social dynamics. These efforts will result in a unique and comprehensive dataset, where the vocalizations, social events and experiences, and physiology can be mapped to each other. We will then take advantage of the powerful deep learning algorithms to analyze the syntactic structures and semantic information in the vocalizations.