, June 14 -- Parrots may do more than simply mimic human speech. A new study suggests the birds could be using names to identify specific people, animals and even themselves, much like humans do in everyday communication.

The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, examined hundreds of recordings of captive parrots and found evidence that some birds use names in meaningful ways rather than just repeating words they hear.

The study was led by Lauryn Benedict of the University of Northern Colorado, working with longtime collaborator Christine Dahlin and researchers from Austria.

Instead of studying parrots in the wild, the team focused on pet parrots living alongside humans. These birds are regularly exposed to human conversations a...