Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird: A True Story

In1977,graduatestudentIrenePepperbergwalkedintoapetstoreandboughtayear-oldAfricangreyparrot.Becauseshewasgoingtostudyhim,shedecidedtocallhimAlex--shortforAvianLearningEXperiment.Atthattime,mostscientiststhoughtthatthebiggerthebrain,thesmarterthecreature;theystudiedgreatapesanddolphins.Africangreys,withtheirwalnut-sized"birdbrains,"wereprettymuchignored--untilAlex.Hisintelligencesurprisedeveryone,includingIrene.Helearnedtocount,add,andsubtract;torecognizeshapes,sizes,andcolors;andtospeak,andunderstand,hundredsofwords.Thesewerethingsnootheranimalcoulddo.Alexwasn'tsupposedtohavethebrainpowertodothem,either.Buthedidthemanyway.AccompaniedbyMeiloSo'sstunningillustrations,AlexandIrene'sstoryisoneofgroundbreakingdiscoveriesaboutanimalintelligence,hardwork,andthelovingbondsofauniquefriendship.,