contact calls
Researchers document a striking parallel between human speech diversity and the calls of monk parakeets, a South American species also known as the Argentine parrot. These birds now populate many European cities and have become a living case study of how language-like differences can emerge and persist in nonhuman communities.
The study highlights that Europe lacks native parrot species, yet the Argentine parrot thrives in nonnative populations after releasing from captivity. In several European nations, large numbers of monk parakeets have established themselves, mirroring the flexible vocal abilities that characterize this group. These birds, like many parrots, continuously learn new sounds and adjust their calls across their lifetimes, which makes them particularly interesting for researchers tracking regional vocal variation.
Since monk parakeets arrived in Europe over the past five decades, they have become a powerful model for exploring how social environments shape communication. Lead author Stephen Tyndel, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, notes that European populations have developed distinct ways of communicating that correlate with geographic location.
“Just as human communities show unique conversational styles by region, European monk parakeets display location-specific patterns of communication,” Tyndel explains.
The research was carried out as monk parakeets spread across Europe, with the team observing that regional calls differed from one country to another and even from city to city. The species has developed a range of calls that vary with place, and these differences are not uniform across all contexts.
Overall, the researchers found that parakeet dialects formed early during the urban colonization process and that these patterns remained relatively stable over time. The results challenged expectations, suggesting that dialect divergence may arise passively as birds colonize new habitats, rather than through constant active modification of calls, though active social factors could still play a role in some contexts.
complex communication
While the team does not rule out active mechanisms behind dialect formation, they emphasize that dialects likely reflect long-standing social structures within parks and nesting groups. In crowded urban nesting areas, sound differences may function as social markers among smaller groups, much like slang among human peers.
Researchers propose that dialect differences could help identify which birds belong to which nest or social unit. Future work will investigate how individuals learn from others and whether dialects persist in smaller park groups as communities evolve.
Lead author Tyndel notes that these insights deepen the understanding of parrot communication and reveal broader connections to the social lives of both humans and animals. The study contributes to a growing appreciation of how complex social behavior shapes communication in nonhuman species.
The Argentine parrot, a species native to South America and widely kept as a cage bird, has become established across much of Europe. Its expansion prompts ongoing observations of how nonnative species adapt to new environments, including how their vocal repertoires integrate into local ecosystems and urban landscapes. In Spain, for instance, naturalist guides and birding resources highlight local population dynamics as part of broader surveillance of avian diversity.
Reference observations and conclusions are detailed in authored reports and preprints, with credits attributed to the involved institutions and researchers (Beheco study, 2023). The ongoing work underscores the value of long-term, cross-city comparisons to illuminate how introduced species communicate and adapt in new settings.
Contact notes are not provided in this summary, but the findings are widely discussed in recent academic discussions about animal communication and urban ecology.