Abstract
The new book, 1he Alex Studies, covers more than two decades of Dr. Irene Pepperberg's research exploring parrot cognitive abilities; and most specifically, her results with her main subject, Alex, an African Grey Parrot. It explains her use of the "Model - Rival" technique to train Alex and documents his successes and failures in various areas. Much of the information in this book has been previously published in various research papers written by Dr. Pepperberg. The writing style is technical with each chapter stating the subject or question(s) to be explored, how it was researched, and test results. The
text is liberally sprinkled with references to back up statements; yet the book remains very readable.
If you are hoping for light anecdotal stories of Alex meeting the press, Alex interacting with Alan Alda, and the general antics of Alex, you'll probably find the book disappointing. While there are the occasional amusing glimpses into what it must be like to work with a feathered subject with the nature and brainpower of a precocious three year old, the main focus of this book is the research itself.
However, if you are interested in hard-core evidence of just how intelligent parrots are and what they are capable of, this book is for you. And if you wish to gain additional insight on how a bird's mind works and what may motivate them, this is very compelling reading. Casual followers of Dr. Pepperberg's work will find the meticulous way in which she has designed each test quite impressive. Skeptics will have a hard time dismissing avian intelligence in the face of such significant work.
I found the chapter on teaching Alex to vocalize, "I want," and his later use of the phrase particularly interesting. I was also very interested in the chapter of previously unpublished research exploring Alex's vocalizations while his trainers were not there. After all, how many of us parrot owners have caught our birds practicing their words and phrases in private?
The book obviously was not written for the purpose of entertaining the reader, but it certainly has entertaining moments. Some chapters do get rather clinical, like the analysis of how parrots speak and the descriptions of their vocal apparatus but, overall, the book is written in a very comprehensible manner. The last quarter of the book (105 pages) contains notes, references, and the index.
For those readers who crave more information on this fascinating subject, and appreciate having it presented in a thorough and indepth manner; the book The Alex Studies by Dr. Irene Pepperberg is certainly an excellent fit.