Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot [Hardcover]

Dr. Betty Jean Craige PhD (Author), Irene Pepperberg (Preface)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2010

In CONVERSATIONS WITH COSMO: AT HOME WITH AN AFRICAN GREY PARROT, 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, makes up her own phrases, and is still learning. 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 it's 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 THE ALEX STUDIES and 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" and an index.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fascinated with language acquisition in animals, University of Georgia humanities professor and animal lover Craige decided to add an African Grey to her household. In this charming memoir, she captures her experience with Cosmo the parrot, revealing not just the bird's capacity for language, but also for affection, opinion, sociability, and reasoning. Cosmo's conversation--she utters some 250 words and phrases--is engaging and surprising, evidencing a sly, exuberant personality with definite likes and dislikes. Craige makes larger points about the fallacy of human exceptionalism and the importance of "animal ambassadors" like Cosmo while providing intimate description of daily life with this intelligent bird and her four dogs (Alaskan Eskimos). Craige illustrates Cosmo's charms (and deceptions) with great humor and affection, but is entirely explicit regarding the extensive hands-on care these animals require (Cosmo has five different cages), as well as the characteristics of Greys raised in the wild and captivity. This thoughtful book should please and inspire animal-lovers, and give would-be parrot-owners an idea of the challenges and rewards. B&w photos.
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Review

"... describes the intelligence and the striking personality of Cosmo." -- Irene M. Pepperberg, The Alex Studies, Alex and Me

"In reading about Cosmo's language development and her remarkable cognitive skills, I was reminded that we as humans are not unique in our need to seek and offer caring companionship." --Judith Ortiz Cofer, The Line of the Sun and The Latin Deli

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sherman Asher Pub (April 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189093237X
• ISBN-13: 978-1890932374
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Betty Jean Craige is University Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She has published books in the fields of literature, history of ideas, politics, ecology, and art. Her most recent book, available in both hardback and audiobook, is CONVERSATIONS WITH COSMO: AT HOME WITH AN AFRICAN GREY PARROT.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good job, Dr. Craige!, April 21, 2010

By 

Margaret T. Wright - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot (Hardcover)

Anyone who has ever lived with an African Grey parrot will tell you how awesome they are... how intelligent and observant... how cunning and manipulative... and how very loving they are. In CONVERSATIONS WITH COSMO, Dr. Betty Jean Craige takes the reader through her journey of learning to live and converse with Cosmo, her beautiful African Grey companion.

Like many of us, Dr. Craige originally chose an African Grey pet because of the specie's communication ability; but again, like many of us, she quickly discovered how incredibly loving and endearing they are to us "pet humans." She takes us through her process of teaching Cosmo to have conversations. She follows many basic principles for teaching Cosmo to talk, such as: 1) looking directly at the bird while speaking; 2) using the same words and phrases repetitively to describe the same situations; and 3) focusing on "power" words and phrases that teach Cosmo how to manipulate and control her own environment. For example, Betty Jean taught Cosmo the power, action word "wanna" to help her Grey companion learn to request objects, such as, "Cosmo wanna water," "Cosmo wanna peanut," and "Cosmo wanna cuddle." She also played games to teach labels. One of her favorite games was called, "what's that?" which gave Dr. Craige the opportunity to teach the labels of different objects in the house... and as a result, Cosmo learned the names of things, such as "clothes" and "television." It also provided Cosmo with a verbal tool for asking, "what's that?" for any object or activity that intrigued her.

African Grey parrots are so incredibly smart! They have minds of their own and can teach themselves on their own, too! For example, my African Grey, Merlin Tewillager, turned "bye-bye" into a power word when she wanted the bird groomer who trimmed her nails TO LEAVE! Not ALL Greys are talkative; however, that does NOT mean that the less talkative ones are not smart. We learn to talk to communicate our needs, and a less-talking or non-talking Grey may not always need to talk to communicate when they are closely attuned to their human companions. I think even deeper than their ability to talk, African Greys have an ability to get into our hearts and souls and connect with us humans on a level that most other entities cannot reach. Therefore, if you have a Grey, and whether or not your Grey is a talker, you are among one of the luckiest humans on this Earth!

The key reason that Dr. Betty Jean Craige wrote this book was to sensitize humans as to the fact that animals are sentient beings capable of thinking, feeling, and communicating. They have purposeful lives, just as we do. When we learn to see this glorious dimension in our pets, it opens us up and reminds us of the magic and wonder that surrounds us every day. That's what life's all about! Good job, Dr. Craige!

Maggie Wright
Author & African Grey expert ([...])
Bringing Back The Magic ([...])
African Grey Parrots: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic, August 22, 2010

By 

toula - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot (Hardcover)

i thoroughly enjoyed this account of cosmo. such a beautiful bond between carer and parrot. alot of the funny things are so relatable to my own cheeky "scarlett" that i laughed and read parts out loud to my family .

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading all about Cosmo, July 12, 2010

By 

Jennifer Sopranzi "JenReader" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot (Hardcover)

Professor Craige tells the story of Cosmo, an African Grey parrot, who is intelligent, funny and creative. The book is both entertaining and informative. Those folks who already share their lives with a parrot will not be surprised by how bright Cosmo is, but they will love reading the story of her development and her brilliant use of language. Those who have never lived with a parrot will be amazed by how intelligent and complicated parrots are, and learn a new respect for these truly amazing creatures.

As someone who shares her home with parrots I just love a book that shows how smart, funny and creative birds are. I enjoyed reading the lists of all of the clever things Cosmo says and the stories of her often mischievous sense of humor.