Buddy the Parrot: The Clever Bird Who Used Alexa to Go Shopping
What would you do if an Amazon package arrived at your home even though nobody in the family remembered ordering it?
For one family in London, the answer turned out to be one of the most unexpected possibilities imaginable: their pet parrot had apparently done the shopping.
In 2017, a five-year-old African grey parrot named Buddy made headlines after apparently using an Amazon Echo and Alexa to place an online order worth £10 while his family was away. (International Business Times UK)
A Mysterious Amazon Order
Buddy lived with his owner, Corienne Pretorius, and her family in Greenwich, southeast London.
One day, Corienne received a notification about an Amazon order she didn't remember making. The purchase was for a set of golden decorative gift boxes worth around £10.
At first, she suspected that her husband or her eight-year-old son might have placed the order.
But neither of them had.
That left the family with a rather unusual suspect.
Buddy the African grey parrot.
Buddy Had Learned to Say “Alexa”
Buddy was known for his impressive ability to mimic sounds and voices.
His Amazon Echo was positioned near his cage, and he had apparently learned to say the device's wake word: “Alexa.”
According to Corienne, she returned home one day and heard Buddy interacting with the smart speaker.
She heard Alexa respond to the bird, including asking what he wanted to order. Later, when Corienne checked her recent Amazon activity, she discovered that an order for golden gift boxes had actually been placed. (International Business Times UK)
That's when the mystery suddenly made sense.
Buddy had apparently gone shopping.
How Did a Parrot Place an Order?
The remarkable part wasn't simply that Buddy could say “Alexa.”
The African grey had apparently learned to imitate his owner's speech well enough to interact with the voice-controlled device.
Reports at the time said Buddy called out “Alexa,” followed by sounds that his owner couldn't clearly understand. The device responded and continued the interaction.
The family believed that Alexa ultimately interpreted one of Buddy's responses as confirmation for the purchase. (TimesLIVE)
While it's unclear exactly what Buddy intended—or whether he understood that he was making a purchase—the incident demonstrated just how effectively a clever parrot could interact with a voice assistant.
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| Meet Buddy, the African grey parrot |
Buddy Wasn't Actually Trying to Shop
There was no evidence that Buddy understood Amazon, money, shopping, or the concept of ordering products online.
African grey parrots are renowned for their ability to imitate human speech and environmental sounds. Buddy had simply learned sounds and phrases used frequently around him.
His interaction with Alexa appears to have been an accidental combination of voice mimicry and a voice-controlled shopping system.
In other words, Buddy probably wasn't thinking:
“Alexa, I'd like some decorative gift boxes, please.”
But somehow, that's essentially what happened.
Amazon Had a Solution
The incident also highlighted an important issue with voice-controlled shopping.
At the time, Amazon said customers could disable voice purchasing or require a confirmation code before purchases could be completed. Amazon also stated that physical products ordered through Alexa were eligible for returns. (International Business Times UK)
After Buddy's unexpected shopping trip, the family reportedly added additional protection to prevent another accidental purchase.
Buddy Was Already Quite the Character
The Amazon incident wasn't the only thing that made Buddy unusual.
According to his owner, the African grey also mimicked the family's cat and had picked up other phrases and sounds around the house.
His owner described him as an attention-seeker who could even say “goodnight” when the family went to bed. (Scottish Financial News)
So when Buddy suddenly became an online shopper, it was apparently just another chapter in the life of a particularly clever bird.
The Parrot Who Beat the System
Buddy's story quickly spread around the world because it combined two things that normally have nothing to do with each other: a talking parrot and online shopping.
The family didn't set out to teach Buddy how to shop. He simply learned how to activate a device designed to respond to human speech—and accidentally managed to turn that ability into a £10 Amazon order.
It remains one of those wonderfully strange stories that sounds completely made up until you realize that it actually happened.
The Takeaway
Buddy didn't need a smartphone, a computer, or a credit card to go shopping.
He had a voice, a smart speaker, and an impressive talent for imitation.
And apparently, that was enough to get a package delivered to his house.
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