Conversations With Cosmo

In Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot, Dr. Betty Jean Craige tells the story of her parrot's education in the language and culture of her human friends. Cosmo is a seven-year-old female Congo African Grey Parrot who by the age of six had learned more than a hundred words and had uttered more than two hundred different phrases. Craige recounts how Cosmo learned to talk, developed social skills and a sense of humor, and became an adorable feathery little person, a real party animal. Cosmo is funny-her first joke was "Telephone for bird!"-and so is Craige. Craige's purpose in writing this very entertaining book is not only to report and explain her parrot's acquisition of language and cognitive abilities, but also-through Cosmo's story-to awaken readers to the mental activities of all the animals with whom we humans share space on our planet. The book has a preface by Irene Pepperberg, author of Alex and Me, and two appendices: a list of "Cosmo's utterances" and a list of "Forty-Four Tips for Living with an African Grey." Preface by Irene M. Pepperberg, author of The Alex Studies and Alex and Me