Scientists hope parrots will teach humans the secrets of language

Published on Sunday 9 November 2008 21:40

SCIENTISTS at a Scottish university are to analyse parrots, ravens and pigeons in a bid to discover how human language evolved, it was revealed yesterday.

The team at St Andrews University say that by comparing "highly intelligent" parrots and ravens with "cognitively normal" pigeons they can discover how human intelligence and language involved.

The group has been awarded a 3.25 million grant from the new European Research Council to fund the five-year study.

Professor Kevin Laland and Dr Tecumseh Fitch will do a series of experiments on chimpanzees, birds and other animals to assess whether human skills such as speech, art and music are a result of human-only attributes or whether animals could have these underlying abilities.

The scientists, at the university's Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, hope to draw a link between parts of the human brain used for language and those used for art.

Prof Laland said: "The project is expected to offer a major step forward in our understanding of human evolution, adaptation and culture and to stimulate interdisciplinary exchange."