Parrot Ruins Jenga

Playing a game of Jenga with three parrots isn't easy.
Apollo is our 2 1/2 year-old African Grey parrot we've had since December 2020.
Founder of Shrock and renowned GLASS connoisseur.
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[@voidliving6922]

“It’s a block.” Apollo, the smartest of birb

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

Birb?

[@BJGvideos]

@@HabrenOdinsdottir Slang for a silly bird

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

@@BJGvideos Oh.

[@callisto-chan7993]

I’m impressed Apollo freely offered up “it’s a block” TWICE, without being prompted. I’m sure he recognizes the shape but it’s cool to see him processing things outside of training.

[@ApolloandFrens]

We're not sure if he understands inflection, but it sure sounds like he's asking the second time. "This is a block?" just to be sure.

[@callisto-chan7993]

@@ApolloandFrens My first thought was could you teach Apollo the reversed verb-subject order that can be used for questions (“This is a block?” versus “Is this a block?”) but I have no idea what their intelligence is like and that might be too abstract a concept (plus if it’s not how you’d normally phrase it, he wouldn’t pick it up). Still, if he’s asking a question then that’s cool! Really learning from his environment.

[@ruthhopeful1405]

@@ApolloandFrens He wants to double check to make sure it is not a NEW thing. 🤣

[@markmillonas1896]

@@callisto-chan7993 in my experience my Greys understand context but there is never any grammatical understanding. I don’t ever get that they really understand the difference between a question and a statement. Though no doubt proto human communication started with the same ambiguity. They just understand that certain words in response to other words in context lead to treats or some other action. When I say “goodnight birds” as the lights go off enough times they say “good night birds” whenever I turn their light off in the evening. But I don’t think I could ever teach them to say “ good night Marko” in response to “goodnight birds”. I’d have to teach them all four words together, and it would be a trick not actual grammar. As far as my observation go they don’t distinguish word order as part of the meaning ever, but it would be interesting to experiment. But they DO know, again contextually, about one thing comes after another. One of the games they used to play back when I had a land line with the phone near their room was one grey would make the phone ringing noise, then the other would say “ hello”. Then they repeated but switching the roles with the other bird making the phone ring to start things off. I am %100 sure it is not a sentiment they ever actually have, but it was hilarious and sounded very mocking. It sounded like grey parrots mocking the ridiculous things humans are obsessed with. 😂 I have said “it’s alright” so many times when they are stressed that now when they are upset about anything they say “it’s alright”. If they hear a loud sound, or see a new person out the window they will say it. Makes me think they have words for emotional states. But I already know that all wild birds have a call that means “snake” and that is even understood across species lines. And importantantly the warning call for “cat” is slightly different, and unique. I think they do invent names for people and even things. My birds each have a unique call they make when they greet me - for one of them it is an imitation of a yawn I once did that impressed him. But they have completely different greetings for other important people in their lives. Irene Pepperberg’s Alex most famously started calling (unshelled) almonds a “cork nut” totally unbidden. That is the closest thing to grammar I’ve heard them coming up with. But I think it only SOUNDED like he was using an adjective if you were being extra anthropomorphic. I think he learned from pepperberg that that combo worked for that treat, though I’m sure initially he did think it looked like either a cork or a nut.

[@TamaraKane]

There are no absolutes when teaching an animal language. They're evolving. We're evolving. They're animals. We're animals. Could we teach them grammar? Of course we could. If it's challenging now, it might get easier in the future. That's how adaptations work. Of course, we have to take care of our planet and each other in order to keep moving forward. Fixed mindsets have no place in learning environments. "Never" and "always" are useless generalizations that narrow our potential.

[@WillemvanderPijl]

I love how apollo is observing when the other birds are training.

[@ryaj2356]

He looks on as though they got it easy, and why he has to do three things. Almost looks like he isn’t happy about that fact.

[@plushstudios454]

Apollo: *sees comment* type

[@squeaktheswan2007]

Apollo : Touch purple. Other birds: Write that down. Write that down!

[@Kawatsume]

I absolutely love the thumbnail, like Apollo is maniacally laughing at the destruction of the tower, but irl the birds get spooked because LOUD.

[@markmillonas1896]

Parrots and puzzles - my African Greys have had over the years many sophisticated parrot puzzles of the type where they are supposed to pull the different latches in the right order to get the treat. They have proven many times over that they can solve these puzzles quickly and efficiently whenever they feel like it. Yet one of my birds first alway tries the “grab one end of the thing and shake as violently as possible for about 30 seconds” method. The design of many of the toys is such that the solution can also be implemented by a pure, irreversible Markov process - the treat will eventually come to rest in the final chamber if you just shake the crap out of it for long enough. Does this mean that my bird is smarter than the puzzle makers because their designs were not sophisticated enough in many cases to force the birds solve the puzzle the “normal” way? After maybe 30 seconds if the treat has not made enough progress they start eyeballing the mechanisms and then solve it the normal way. Irene Pepperberg, the scientist who trained Alex and more or less invented teaching parrots to ID object color, type and number verbally always emphasized the observation that parrots have a very different idea of entertainment than humans, and the limitation in teaching them is less about their pure intelligence, which is considerable, than it is about how rapidly they become disinterested in the repetitive game of it. If one is in a certain mood they will deliberately thwart your expectations as a kind of rebellion against the whole process. The whole thing about them having the intelligence of a 5 year old, and the emotional maturity of a 2 year old means they always want what want, exactly when they want it, and are usually smart enough to figure out how to get it from you. On the other hand they can literally spend 3 hours devotedly turning a phone book, page by page, into a foot high pyramid of confetti because, you know, parrot mind. 😂 I’m pretty sure the parrot rules for Jenga are “knock it over = fun and excitement”.

[@ApolloandFrens]

Our birds do that with puzzles too. Intelligent, but unwise.

[@Pac-ManJr]

🟥🟨🟦 🟦🟥🟨 🟨🟦🟥 🟥🟨🟦🦜🦜🦜

[@PepperoniMilkshake]

The caiques are getting pretty smart, but it's a long way before they can play Jenga hahahaha

[@ruthhopeful1405]

And they said, Come, let us build us a tower, whose top may reach unto a "block"

[@Kriskirby1992]

This is the perfect opportunity to learn "made of wood"

[@simonneal8316]

“Flip the bird” is like South Park’s “Kick the baby”

[@mazder360]

Flip the Bird makes me so happy

[@Little_cub993]

Wdym flip??

[@banne4348]

“This is block?” I love apollo

[@Oceane1803]

You need to teach him to say "WARIO ! I'M GONNA WIN" from the Snapcube Subspace Emissary fandub.

[@tthomaselli2]

I still love heating Apollo say "This is a block..." around 0:31.

[@twistedaxles9126]

**tower falls over** Apollo: EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!

[@birbluv9595]

At last I know what Wario is! Thank you, Apollo!

[@timothytzovolos153]

WAAAAAARIO TIME

[@Serena28229]

Amateurs, I play DnD with my african grey

[@ApolloandFrens]

Giving bard vibes

[@justsummers1559]

Do you have videos 😭

[@smartwalrus1957]

Really? That is so amazing

[@SoojArt]

my favorite instrument is the ophelia bongo 0:26

[@tuhin94]

Caique: *pushes clearly unstable tower* Tower: *falls* Caique: 😲✈️ I can’t tell the two adorable clowns apart yet, but this was very entertaining to watch. They are very intelligent!

[@disbioty]

Jenga caique style (break the tower as fast as possible)

[@spacehead4725]

Tori’s scream at the end is so funny

[@elisemiller13]

Love this group birb & frens play!

[@Cherokee51774]

The girls running to the blocks. 😂

[@lisaricci4779]

These little sweeties, brings so much joy I wish I could have one.

[@zunairbirds3984]

So cute 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@tempekrpk]

This vid is pure chaos I like it

[@ruthhopeful1405]

long live anarchy !?

[@Yourlocalbacterium]

I love the caique on the jenga tower

[@callisto-chan7993]

I find it interesting you’re using the coloured puzzle pieces for the ‘touch red/yellow’ training when there’s a pile of red/yellow/blue blocks right there. Do they have a hard time recognizing colours outside of training (that is, they can’t tell if a different shade of yellow than the puzzle piece is ‘yellow’)?

[@ApolloandFrens]

Since parrots can see ultraviolet light, we have to test their toys under a blacklight to see if they "react" and appear a different color. We haven't tested the blocks in the Jenga set yet, so we don't want to ask in case the birds see them too differently.

[@traceyrychewhite1874]

I don't know what kind of bird's your twins are but I had no idea that they knew their colors. They are so smart and 😍 cute.

[@musicaddic95]

They’re caiques! They’re usually pretty fun to watch and interact with from what I’ve seen :D

[@LeeAnneGomes]

You 5 are living the dream.

[@michaelgamingrblx9518]

"jenga with parrots"

[@ferretyluv]

She wanted to play, too!

[@Farkonso]

legendary thumbnail

[@mr.shadowofdeath9113]

I want Apollo to say his sisters name again lol 😊

[@catflower_queen7497]

This is fun

[@eschwarz1003]

Family fun

[@madchenyt]

today is one of those days very, very hard to endure. in 2021, i had an abuse relationship. i ended up with C-PTSD and in 2022, i was also diagnosed with BPD. during my abusive relationship, i was financially abused too. i'm only 26 years old. i worked hard to be where i'm now. i worked at a restaurant and had a very hard time in order to pay my college bills. i had to endure a lot of professional abuse to grow in my career, and ended financially abused by my ex boyfriend and his mother. it's not easy. my psychological treatment is expensive and i'm dealing with a lot of debts. and today the main bank ripped out everything i was counting to to keep some of the bills and my treatment in check. i lost everything. i'm crying my heart out because i'm completely alone in this, and i was not even thinking about apollo but he was the first thing i saw when i opened youtube. dalton and tori, i'm sorry for the sad comment. i just want to say thank you, though. you don't have any idea how your videos helps people who are in need. apollo always bring me something good to feel. even when i'm having very hard thoughts. thank you deeply

[@Tamamo_]

Shrock

[@justsummers1559]

Touch 💜

[@the_nikster1]

hug! ❤

[@ApolloandFrens]

Sorry to hear about all of that. Obviously we can't answer every comment, but always read every single one. We are always happy to read your comments and are grateful for a following full of people like yourself. Here's hoping we get a great 70-something more years with Apollo and that we can continue to share the joys he brings us. Best wishes!

[@madchenyt]

@@ApolloandFrens thank you so much! in fact, if i have children, i do really hope to introduce them to apollo and how he helped me with challenging days every single night before my sleep. apollo is like something between a child hero or sleep protector to me. not only him but the girls too. thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking so good care of them, loving them and sharing them with us. i'm sure apollo and the girls are helping a lot of people, including children, at this exactly moment. and this is priceless. a rescue bird is reaching to a lot of souls. ❤️🫶🏻

[@AsheXWolf]

You should try to play Truth or Dare with them! I know it’s probably VERY difficult but if y’all try I’d watch that video .

[@ash506]

Dare: pour water Truth: what made of?

[@Dinosaurprince]

Lemon chan!

[@Siddich]

I think she has won... :-D

[@tecb1]

0:31

[@Derotrox]

touch purple!

[@Little_cub993]

"w o r i o h"

[@suedavis7451]

It’s a cork

[@Pikmin012]

😍

[@thedragonthatlovesskittles7132]

wWAARRRIIIOOOOOoOO

[@Kazuhira2249]

indeed it is a block

[@christianhagen9593]

Wawio 🤣

[@meyosdominguez6329]

👏☺️😜🥰

[@annehemmer5153]

❤️

[@jej1.]

0:08 poor wario

[@Buddy-rs6fh]

How does bird plays Jenga

[@Potato-Eye]

I want a dog but i dont think i would show enough affection. You both do and i appreciate you both

[@the572]

Next step is to teach them to play video games

[@CoffeecupCV]

Lol it is clear who ruled the game. It encompassed a higher seated chair and very boisterous voice. 😬😂

[@Sarah.Riedel]

*WORIO*

[@alicetretyakova3971]

Now make sure no bird mistakes it for a chew toy

[@dan_gerous87]

Worio

[@hattipper5985]

Agreed

[@fuccaroundfindout]

but they didnt have to kill Wario 🥺

[@kellywalker1664]

That ended on a good note- a high F.

[@biankalatoma4775]

I love this but please remember animals hear louder than us!

[@oldWanderer69]

they do have cognitive function to pull a block out, they just need to be trained more to do it properly.

[@childofcascadia]

Youd have to give them a reason to pull it out carefully. From the parrots ive known, making the blocks go flying would be way more entertaining than carefully pulling out the block.

[@brendavoracek6242]

Love you all Amen ✝️ Thank you 😊 for the internment Love ❤️ U Bunches and BUNCHES ❤️ GOD BLESS YOU ALL BIRD'S 🦜 🐦 🦜 🐦 🦜 🐦 🦜 🐦 🦜 🐦

[@Pikmin012]

The cutest thing the vid is you 🥺

[@noegiussani3749]

Wario

[@giovanniquargentan6198]

🤣🤣

[@davidca96]

this is a block....arright

[@superbrownbrown]

*Tori: "You can't do that and not commit!"* *Did that statement have a hidden meaning?* 🤔😂

[@kevo8137]

Please teach him to say touch grass.

[@aarondaniele4141]

Please upload more new videos