[Buhljingo]

Generally curious, how do you measure: "the findings suggest that video calls can improve a pet parrot’s quality of life."

[markdown]

Parrots are very expressive, and if you live with one for months/years, you'll learn its moods. Not hard to see how a parrot responds to something new.

[short_sells_poo]

They also have clear signs of depression (eg plucking their feathers). They are really amazing animals, but non trivial to keep as pets.

[sroussey]

I have three, and they are a lot of work. Assume a couple hours a day. We make toys for them every day. The noise, the mess, the neediness. It’s a lot. They are a joy, but I don’t really don’t suggest others to get any.

[capableweb]

I think it's very hard to objectively measure and give it a concrete number, but anyone who have kept a pet (dog, cat, parrot, pig or otherwise) can usually tell if their companion is happy or not, as they have bunch of signals they give us throughout their lives. With dogs, you can usually tell by the ears if they're curious or defensive, while the tail tells you if they're happy.

[lostlogin]

> the tail tells you if they're happy.

I like some of the other tail signals.

Pointing - ‘there is something in that hedge.’

Confidence wag - ‘I’m going to win this coming fight.’

Scared/ashamed tuck - ‘I’m sorry.’

Zoomies tail tuck - ‘look how fast I can corner.’

[m463]

I have a parrot. She cannot talk. But she speaks and socializes on speakerphone and facetime. She definitely recognizes some callers and interacts with them during the call. It makes her happy - though at some point she'll sort of run out of attention and start doing her normal bird stuff.

[csomar]

From the look of his face, that parrot looks very happy.