--- description: Bird laughs like a super villain and why parrots mimic human speech title: This Bird's Villainous Cackle Is the Stuff of Nightmares image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Bird's Villainous Cackle Is the Stuff of Nightmares  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer May 13, 2015 7:09 PM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer May 13, 2015 7:09 PM CUT A [video](https://youtu.be/-%5Fv7X9tWO5s "undefined") going viral on Reddit appears to show a bird cackling like a “super villain.” Some experts say talking birds mimic sounds they find [appealing](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14930062 "undefined"), and parrots may rely on their strong memories to get the hang of something after a single listen. Parrots may use [“vocal imitation”](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=experts-parrots-mimic "undefined") to attract a mate or find one another in a crowd. As Michael Schindlinger, an assistant professor of biology at Lesley University, wrote in _Scientific American_, “Maybe this is the best reason for these parrots to imitate: to better command the attention of a potential listener by producing sounds for which the listener already has a memory.” ### See The Best Biology Photos Of The Year  Two Bisons on the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. Lukas Gawenda  A spider at sunset in Predel, Bulgaria. Krasimir Matarov  Parasitoid wasps building clay pots in Borneo, Brunei. Thomas Endlein  Siblings watering newly planted seedlings in Rizal, The Philippines. Ysabel M Victoriano  A leopard in its natural habitat in Karantaka, India. Nagarjun Ram  A farmer protects his family and animals from mosquitos in Gujarat, India. Dimple Pancholi  A tarsier in its natural habitat in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Wolfgang Weinhardt  A plant takes advantage of the available shelter in a dilapidated house in Kolmanskop, Namibia. Kelsey Green  A female blackbird holding a dried mealworm in her mouth in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Billy Clapham  A chick embryo in a hardened eggshell is sustained until full development in Rizal, The Philippines. Robert Cabagnot  An adult female Italian crested newt stationed below the fresh water surface in Piedmont, Italy. Matteo Riccardo Di Nicola  A sea turtle eating a jellyfish in The Maldives. Boris Barath ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3857210/bird-evil-super-villain-laugh/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3857210/bird-evil-super-villain-laugh/"},"headline":"This Bird's Villainous Cackle Is the Stuff of Nightmares","datePublished":"2015-05-13T19:09:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:36.707Z","description":"Bird laughs like a super villain and why parrots mimic human speech","url":"https://time.com/3857210/bird-evil-super-villain-laugh/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3857210/bird-evil-super-villain-laugh/","name":"This Bird's Villainous Cackle Is the Stuff of Nightmares"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside New York's First Cat Cafe","description":"Meet the cats of NYC's first cat cafe, Meow Parlour, and hear more about the growing trend of paying to play with cats from the cafe's two owners.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0MiiFeak/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-12T19:30:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0MiiFeak.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3857210/bird-evil-super-villain-laugh/","duration":"PT1M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3857210/bird-evil-super-villain-laugh/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```