Cosmo (parrot)

Cosmo (born 2002/2003) is an African Grey Parrot who by the age of 6 had learned more than 200 words. She lives with Betty Jean Craige, who is University Professor Emerita of comparative literature and Director Emerita of the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia. Cosmo is the subject of Betty Jean Craige's book (2010) called Conversations with Cosmo, for which Irene Pepperberg wrote the preface. Cosmo was the subject of a research study by Erin Colbert-White showing the "first demonstration" of an animal using a variety of speech and nonword sounds in a "deliberate, contextually relevant fashion" that goes beyond vocal imitation and approaches functional use.