Conversations With Cosmo

May 10, 2010
Fascinated with language acquisition in animals, University of Georgia humanities professor and animal lover Craige decided to add an African Grey to her household. In this charming memoir, she captures her experience with Cosmo the parrot, revealing not just the bird's capacity for language, but also for affection, opinion, sociability, and reasoning. Cosmo's conversation—she utters some 250 words and phrases—is engaging and surprising, evidencing a sly, exuberant personality with definite likes and dislikes. Craige makes larger points about the fallacy of human exceptionalism and the importance of "animal ambassadors" like Cosmo while providing intimate description of daily life with this intelligent bird and her four dogs (Alaskan Eskimos). Craige illustrates Cosmo's charms (and deceptions) with great humor and affection, but is entirely explicit regarding the extensive hands-on care these animals require (Cosmo has five different cages), as well as the characteristics of Greys raised in the wild and captivity. This thoughtful book should please and inspire animal-lovers, and give would-be parrot-owners an idea of the challenges and rewards. B&w photos.

March 1, 2010
Although parrots are often credited with astounding gifts of mimicry, these misunderstood birds are largely believed to be incapable of more. In recent years, however, scholars have attempted to quantify the emotional and intellectual capacity of parrots, both domestically bred and in the wild. Before she stopped keeping track, Craige (comparative literature, Univ. of Georgia) documented that Cosmo, her beloved six-year-old African gray, had learned to speak over 100 words and more than 200 phrases and had mastered several contextual inflections. Craige's success in socializing her bird will most assuredly contribute to the growing body of knowledge, as her results suggest that Cosmo not only can talk but also knows what she is talking "about". VERDICT Craige presents an academic yet highly entertaining narrative on parrot rearing by citing numerous informative studies while also providing a thoroughly enjoyable firsthand account of life with an African gray. Readers who want an additional scientific perspective can turn to Irene Pepperberg's classic "The Alex Studies"; more personal accounts include Pepperberg's "Alex & Me" and Jenny Gardiner's "Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined To Kill Me".Judy Brink-Drescher, Molloy Coll. Lib., Rockville Centre, NY

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