Monk Parakeets Social Life Shapes Vocal Diversity

Monk Parakeet Vocal Diversity: Social groups, especially females, show richer vocabularies; central birds vocalize diversely, while close friends use unique calls.

How social networks shape the vocal diversity of monk parakeets

• Monk parakeets thrive in colonies, using distinct sounds to communicate.
• Researchers analyzed social networks of monk parakeets in Spain to understand how social ties affect vocalizations.
• The team observed 337 monk parakeets, documenting their social lives and recording 5,599 vocalizations.
• Parakeets in larger groups had a more variable repertoire of sounds.
• Female parakeets had a more diverse repertoire than males, which is unusual for birds.
• Parakeets with more central positions in the social structure had more diverse vocal repertoires. The most social individuals seemed to have a better vocabulary.
• Close friends that allowed each other to approach within pecking distance sounded less like each other.
• Sociality is linked to a more diverse repertoire in various species.
• The next step is understanding what each sound means.

Key Findings:

• Social Group Size: Parakeets in larger groups had more varied sounds.
• Gender Differences: Females showed more vocal diversity than males.
• Social Influence: More social parakeets had a richer "vocabulary."
• Close Relationships: Close friends had unique vocalizations compared to each other