My research interests lie within the cognitive abilities of highly social species. My study system, Myiopsitta monachus (monk parrots), is hypothesized to be a very social species with high cognitive abilities, though behavioral characters related to these attributes have never been tested. This species is likely a great candidate for the study of the social complexity hypothesis, which states “The most important selective pressure for increased intelligence involves increasingly sophisticated strategies for competing and cooperating with conspecifics.” (De Waal and Tyack 2003) But in order to test questions of social complexity, their entire behavioral repertoire, most importantly the social factors of their behavior, must be understood. I am currently testing questions of social complexity based on an ethogram I have developed from my own observations and comparisons to other parrot species’ behaviors. Broadly, I would like to understand the complex relationships between individuals in terms of behavior.