Clever cockatoos learn through social interaction

[2greys]

For the first time, a team of international scientists have proven that cockatoos, an iconic Australian bird species, learn from each other a unique skill – lifting garbage bin lids to gather food. The world-first research published today in Science, confirms that cockatoos spread this novel behavior through social learning. Led by Barbara Klump and Lucy Aplin from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, along with John Martin (Taronga Conservation Society) and Richard Major (Australian Museum), the team have shown that this behavior by cockatoos is actually learnt, rather than a result of genetics.

Lead co-author, Barbara Klump, said social learning is the basis of different regional cultures, and some animals, such as primates and birds, appear to learn socially. “Children are masters of social learning. From an early age, they copy skills from other children and adults. However, compared to humans, there are few known examples of animals learning from each other,” Klump said. “Demonstrating that food scavenging behavior is not due to genetics is a challenge,” Klump added.

However, a few years ago, Richard Major shared a video with senior author Lucy Aplin, showing a sulphur-crested cockatoo opening a closed garbage bin. The cockatoo used its beak and foot to lift the heavy lid then shuffled along the side to flip it over, accessing a rich reward of leftover food. Aplin, who was then researching at Oxford University and has since moved to the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, and Klump were fascinated by the footage.

"It was so exciting to observe such an ingenious and innovative way to access a food resource, we knew immediately that we had to systematically study this unique foraging behavior,” Klump said.

mpg.de/17217291/0718-ornr-c...

[2greys]

youtube.com/watch?v=l8NOR1L...(Not working as expected?)

[Jaybird19]

Some birds are intelligent where food is involved .i have had time to watch those birds who came to my balcony for food and while they havent tried accessing the rubbish bin a robin has certainly copied another in one difficult access to a feeder. Others watch where the birds go as does the squirrel, unfortunately . They are only rats with a better tail!

[2greys in reply to Jaybird19]

They can also watch us humans as a source of food ie gulls are particularly good at that. My parrot's most favourite toy is an, old, empty turbohaler of mine and she spends ages unscrewing the cap and spend hours, throwing the inner part across the room and then chasing after it and then repeating it. Favourite, why, well it's Daddy's of course.

[Jaybird19 in reply to 2greys]

Do I read that she copies you in throwing it across the room ! What else doe she do..? Did she watch the cockatoo on the screen ? You will have to watch the kitchen bin . Yes gulls are notorious for stealing food .

[2greys in reply to Jaybird19]

No I don't throw inhalers across the room. It is her version of 'fetch'. She will watch other Greys on the screen but only if there is sound as well. I have had a couple of TFT monitors broken in the past with both lunging suddenly at them, so I know that they can see the images.

[Jaybird19 in reply to 2greys]

Throwing I inhalers . I was joking!

[2greys in reply to Jaybird19]

I never thought for one moment that you were being serious.

[knitter]

The chickens who used to live in our garden recognised the blackbirds warning noise when there was danger about , and would run for cover.

[Alberta56]

Makes me wonder what lockdown has done/is doing for human social skills.

[2greys in reply to Alberta56]

From my point of view, it has probably 'levelled the playing field' a little.

Many more are mindful of meeting and mixing with other people. People like us, with lung disease or immunocompromised have or should been mindful of catching any bug from someone for a while. Welcome to our world!

[Alberta56 in reply to 2greys]

I was thinking particularly of small children, deprived of grandparents and other close family, of nursery and playing with little friends. Can't be good.

[2greys in reply to Alberta56]

The phycological effects will not be properly assessed for many years to come, children can be quite resilient but by how much?

[Annie31 in reply to Alberta56]

Not a lot, judging by what I've seen and heard by many and thats without going out myself!

[Aingeful]

African greys are very intelligent, my friends parrot(Max) used to amaze me!

[2greys in reply to Aingeful]

Cinders thinks/knows she rules the roost.

[Aingeful in reply to 2greys]

And probably tells you!😀

[Ergendl]

The sparrows in my back garden learned from the blue tits, how to feed from the fat balls in the feeder. Now the blue tits don't get a look in, but the pigeons are below the feeder, picking up all the bits that drop.

[Nickcv]

I have bird feeders in my garden and also a squirrel feeder which I fill with monkey nuts. To get to the nuts the squirrels have to lift a lid. Recently the nuts have been disappearing far more quickly than usual. The culprits are wood pigeons who have learned to lift the lid.