We now know that talking requires a big fancy brain, such as humans have and snakes conspicuously don’t (and don’t have room for), and the right sort of vocal apparatus, ditto.
I’d need to see a sample size bigger than 1 to be sure that Alex’s (prima facie very impressive) achievements weren’t exaggerated. And it’s clear that he was a long, long way from the level of understanding shown by the snake in Genesis 3.
But you and DanArmak are right to point out that birds’ brains do seem to achieve more understanding per unit size than primate brains.
How big and fancy a brain does a parrot have?
I’d need to see a sample size bigger than 1 to be sure that Alex’s (prima facie very impressive) achievements weren’t exaggerated. And it’s clear that he was a long, long way from the level of understanding shown by the snake in Genesis 3.
But you and DanArmak are right to point out that birds’ brains do seem to achieve more understanding per unit size than primate brains.