Pepperberg, a pioneering animal behaviorist and visiting professor at MIT, has discovered that one of here test subjects, Wart, an African Grey, has a penchant for surfing the Internet.

Wart uses a specially designed perch with colored paddles to navigate a simple system of Web pages developed by Pepperberg and her students.

Similar to a series of Web pages already in development for dogs, the animal can navigate at its leisure through various entertaining activities.

In future sites that would allow parrot interaction, researchers hope to include a video and music browser, a four-note musical instrument, a live video feed of wild parrots and interactive puzzles and mazes. They also hope to develop tools that allow a bird to engage in remote interaction with its owner, via webcam.

In other parrot news, Pepperberg’s most famous test subject, Alex the African Grey, recently passed away. With an impressive English vocabulary, at age 31, Alex displayed the emotional maturity of a 2-year-old human child and the intellectual abilities of a 5-year-old. He was able to accurately identify and request more than 50 objects by name and use appropriate language to convey up to 100 concepts and requests.

Recently released pathology results from Alex’s necropsy suggest he experienced either heart failure, a fatal heart attack or a massive stroke that took his life instantly. Further analysis of his diet and lifestyle factors indicate a genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

Atherosclerosis is thought to be a fairly common condition in parrots as young as 10 years. Limitations in veterinary science have prevented early diagnosis and treatment of the condition.  <HOME>