My husband and I were musing the other day about the apparent fact that Scooter's repetoire of sounds seems to be almost entirely learned -- only his screech and maybe one or two high-excitement sounds seem like natural conure calls. Since these guys pick up new sounds so easily and appear to be "wired" to use sounds for purposes of communication -- are any of the sounds completely instinctual? If not, it seems that a hand-raised parrot would not learn any of its "native language", if there even is such a thing.
What does this ability/proclivity do for a bird or flock in the wild? Does each flock (or family) develop distinct sounds so they can distinguish themselves from other groups? Do they learn sounds from other birds and use them? Do they use sounds to disguise themselves from predators? Since it is such a strong trait in parrots -- not just commincation by vocalization, but the ability to learn and use a wide variety of sounds -- there must be some compelling reason for it.
Does anyone know, or am I doomed to a new midlife career as an ornithologist?