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The work shows the value of “studying birds’ number sense and communication,” says Irene Pepperberg, a comparative psychologist at Boston University known for her research with Alex, a highly intelligent African gray parrot.

“The whole field completely disintegrated,” said Irene Pepperberg, a comparative cognition researcher at Boston University, who became known for her work with an African gray parrot named Alex.

“In the 2000s you could buy a hand-fed African gray parrot for $1,500 and now they’re over $6,000,” said Dr. Teresa Micco, a veterinarian who treats birds at Point Vicente Animal Hospital in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Pepperberg herself discovered something like babbling in a famed African gray parrot named Alex, which she studied for more than 30 years.

Lawrence Shapiro, 54, a biochemistry professor at Columbia University and owner of an African gray parrot named Inga, said Birdcamp was a New York institution.