Alexa has finally found love — not with another smart assistant, but with Rocco, an Africa gray parrot. The parrot, a resident of the United Kingdom, learned that Alexa will talk to him during the day when his owner is away, The Sun reports. After a bit of conversation, the parrot stumbled upon the fact he could order treats for himself via Amazon’s smart assistant, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Rocco belongs to Marion Wischnewski, a member of the National Animal Welfare Trust. She took Rocco from a shelter to her home in Didcot, Oxon, because the parrot had learned to swear and the staff did not want visitors exposed to random strings of profanity.
If that fact alone wasn’t enough to tip anyone off that Rocco is anything but a normal bird, he also likes to dance. Wischnewski frequently comes home from work to find Rocco jamming out to his favorite band, Kings of Leon. “Often I come home from being out all day and find romantic tunes playing. And he loves a boogie with Alexa, but it has to be something fast, like his favorite Kings of Leon,” Wischnewski told The Sun.
Besides dancing the days away with Alexa, Rocco also likes to shop. The ability to buy things for himself is what sparked the love affair in the first place. So far, Rocco has ordered strawberries, watermelons, raisins, broccoli, and ice cream. The parrot even managed to purchase a kite, light bulbs, and a tea kettle. Talk about a British bird.
Wischnewski has accepted that this is just part of life with Rocco. “Rocco and Alexa chat away to each other all day. Then I have to check the shopping list and cancel all the items he’s ordered.”
African gray parrots like Rocco are known far and wide for their intelligence and their vocal mimicry skills, but Rocco’s use of technology is surprising even to those that know how capable these birds are. If you want to own a parrot like Rocco, you might want to keep an eye out for new arrivals from Amazon. Your pet might be shopping for themselves.
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