Parrot Video Games (Photo : Facebook)
Angry Birds has become a hit game among humans and now parrots are playing video games like people. Researchers at Texas A&M University are studying how video games can improve the exotic birds' health. In the study scientists wanted to find a method to make parrots active and healthy by doing experiments with video games using software made for the small animals.
The study was done by the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center at Texas A&M University. Software used in the study was designed based on the visual and auditory systems of birds.
Parrots can use the software to get physical and mental exercise while their owners are away, which will prevent them from being inactive.
Dr. Donald Brightman helped conduct the study. He stated that birds in cages get bored and sad, and after a while they start to hurt themselves or go insane, according to The Battalion.
Parrots can live to over 30 years old. Brightman explained that during that time they can suffer from sedentary lifestyle and results such as obesity and heart disease.
Taylor Strange is a Texas A&M graduate student. She observed that when a male parrot played the video game and improved its skills the colorful bird started doing a "celebration dance" after winning a game.
Grad student Constance Woodman noted that the bird was showing a positive reaction to the system. She thinks in the future it could be used for other animals in captivity.
She also stated that the project could provide many benefits. They can improve the physical and mental state of animals, and be used to check the parrots' hearing, vision, and brain.
Captive animals could get exercise before they are released back into the wild. Meanwhile, the quality of life could also be improved for animals in captivity.
In related news, researchers have discovered that several video games benefit people's brains. Action video games such as Call of Duty can greatly improve cognitive performance.
The study's authors were mostly based at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They analyzed 20 years of video game research and learned that the overall mental abilities of adults improved moderately by playing action video games, according to Medical Daily.
Here are benefits of playing video games:
