Third, when the underlying structure is complete, I will test the ethogram's utility and inter-observer reliability. Achieving the second short-term goal will require some understanding of the natural history of African Grey Parrots. My long-term goal is to examine the functional role of specific African Grey Parrot signals. If signals are critical to African Grey Parrot survival, then the only way to understand the importance of these signals is to study them in detail. As a first step toward achieving the long-term goal, I recorded general observations of group and individual behavior, made video recordings of all visually observable behavior to develop an ethogram and made audio recordings of vocalizations for eventual use in playback experiments on African Grey Parrot acoustic signals.
Notes based on general observations provide context information to supplement video footage.
An ethogram will provide a systematic behavioral inventory of African Grey Parrot behavior that shows species-typical behavior. Audio recordings of African Grey Parrot signals will provide the raw materials for future playback experiments. The combined use of video and audio recordings will help me to identify some of the vocalizations that have salient effects on the behavior of the parrots. Playback experiments, using edited recordings, will show correlations between specific acoustic signals and their effects in various situations. Project Design and Implementation Study site.