Sad News: Alex the Parrot Crosses "The Rainbow Bridge"

We were very sad to learn of the death of Alex the Parrot this past weekend at the age of 31. Alex, an extraordinary African Grey belonging to parrot intelligence researcher Irene Pepperberg, demonstrated that parrots are much more thoughtful than formerly believed. His formal memorial on Dr. Pepperberg's site, AlexFoundation.org, notes that "Alex has left a significant legacy—not only have he and Dr. Pepperberg and their landmark experiments in modern comparative psychology changed our views of the capabilities of avian minds, but they have forever changed our perception of the term 'bird brains.'"

We can only imagine the grief that Dr. Pepperberg is going through now but hope she continues her worthwhile research into the intelligence of parrots. She has set up a Yahoo Group dedicated to remembering Alex: if you have an anecdote or a condolence message, please go to: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/
Remembering-Alex/?yguid=93031820

Update 9/11/2007: The New York Times has published an obituary for Alex.