Wolf wrote: But then ,Pajarita , when you describe the meeting of one parrot with another you describe the very same way that humans do the same type of meeting as you have both parrot one and human one saying their own name and then parrot two and human two repeating ones name and adding their own name. so you identified two names where as I identified a possible query and a possible name. Not really any difference, as in neither your example of in mine did we either one of us say this is what was said, but we both said that this appears to be what is happening in this particular instance. so you don't agree with it when I do this but you turn around and do exactly the same thing to refute me, so you accept it when you do it. That sounds a lot like a double standard to me and we really don't need double standards.
No, no, you misunderstood. What I described was the way they identify one another by a name they announce themselves (this is based on the same scientific study that told us about the parents naming their chicks in the nest). This was to illustrate why I thought it unlikely that the second noise was the name the bird had given to its new owner, as you proposed -namely because, if they do this in the wild, it has not been observed yet. What they did observe was the parents naming their chicks and these chicks using the name its parents gave him to introduce himself (and, in many cases, using their name at the beginning of flock vocalizations (as if they were saying: "So and so here -and then proceeding to verbalize the communication) and the other birds using the name the first bird introduced himself with for it. Not double standard, a different concept.
And yes, you are correct in that they do have a language. As little as we have been able to find out about birds, we do know that scientists have been able to identify over 500 'words' or 'phrases' in parrots languages. And yes, again, not only dolphins and whales, songbirds also use syntax (or grammar) on their songs.
As to trying to figure out what the vocalizations mean... well, I wish I could help you but, in truth, I doubt anybody would be able to without been there for a few days and observing them all the time. I am able to tell what my amazons vocalizations mean but they are very easy birds to understand because their 'phrases' are so distinct from one another and they are such predictable birds. I can also tell what my senegals are saying but I can't really tell the difference with the conures unless it's an alarm call - my cockatoos are not that easy, either, because they sound the same (to my ear, I am sure a computer would find the differences) when they are flock calling and when they are a bit annoyed or just plain excited, and my grays are also another big mystery most of the time but they hardly ever make a sound anyway - most of my birds are pretty quiet during the day.