Famous parrot with big bird brain — and gift of gab — dies - On Deadline - USATODAY.com

re: "Alex, an African Grey parrot with a knack for the English language, has died at age 31, apparently of natural causes. /The subject of a landmark study on bird intelligence, Alex had a vocabulary of more than 100 words, the New York Times writes in its obituary. /According to his Web perch (where there's a picture of Alex with his handler) he also could "identify 50 different objects, 7 colors, 5 shapes, quantities up to and including 6 and a zero-like concept." Research by Irene Pepperberg at Brandeis University was said to have "shattered the generally held notion that parrots are only capable of mindless vocal mimicry." ..."...