Myna talent for mimicry quiets two parrots

Ananova:
Myna talent for mimicry

A myna bird managed to shut up two noisy parrots in China - by learning to miaow like a cat.

Bird owner Mr Jiang, of Nanjing, bought the myna and taught it to speak in order to attract business.

All went well - until he bought two parrots and put them in a cage next to the myna, reports the Yangtse Evening Post.

Jiang said the two parrots were very talkative, and their chattering made the myna upset and angry.

"It began jumping frenetically in its cage after the two parrots arrived. Then the myna noticed that when a neighbouring cat came and miaowed, the parrots suddenly got very quiet," he explained.

"Afterwards I was amazed to hear the myna bird had learnt to imitate cats miaowing, and did it many times a day. It seems he has forgotten all the Chinese I taught him!

"Whenever the parrots get too noisy, the myna calls their bluff by mimicking the cat, and the parrots hush up right away."