More social parrots have a better vocabulary

For social animals, communication is a key that unlocks the benefits of group living. It's well known that animals with more complex social lives tend to have more intricate ways of communicating, from the clicks and whistles of dolphins to the calls of primates. While this pattern is found broadly in many species, a new study on wild parrots drills deep into the social and vocal lives of individual birds. Researchers analyzing the social networks of monk parakeets in Spain have uncovered how an individual's social ties shapes the calls these birds make.