The Parrot's Role in Saving a Lost Language.
Legend has it that Alexander von Humboldt, a German explorer, saved the remnants of a dead tribal language by recording the words of a parrot he encountered on his journey through the Amazon basin in the early 19th century. The parrot was apparently the last living creature to speak the language of the Atures tribe, which had disappeared. Humboldt recorded around 40 words spoken by the parrot, which has been an inspiration for generations of linguists. While some have dismissed the story as fanciful, Humboldt did offer some evidence to support it.