He understood concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. Yet, over the years, Alex proved many things. Alex's brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famous-two pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news.

His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were 'You be good. The story of their thirty-year adventure is equally a landmark of scientific achievement and of an unforgettable human-animal bond.On September 6, 2007, an African grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one. Yet nearly every day, they each said, ‘I love you’.Īlex and Irene stayed together through thick and thin - despite sneers from experts, extraordinary financial sacrifices, and a nomadic existence from one university to another. He sometimes became bored by the repetition of his tests, and played jokes on her. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. They shared a deep bond far beyond science. They were emotionally connected to one another. Yet there was a side to their relationship that never made the papers. The fame that resulted was extraordinary. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality- We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures.

Alex’s brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famous - two pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex’s case, headline news. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were ‘You be good. On September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one. ‘A moving tribute that beautifully evokes the struggles, the initial triumphs, the setbacks, the unexpected and often stunning achievemnets … while uncovering cognitive abilities in Alex that no one believed were possible.’ Publishers Weekly

Alex & Me by Irene M. Pepperberg