6 hours ago in Features
In this 2019 photo provided by researcher Barbara Klump, a sulphur-crested cockatoo lifts the lid of a trash can while several others watch in Sydney, Australia. At the beginning of 2018, researchers received reports from a survey of residents that birds in three Sydney suburbs had mastered the novel foraging technique. By the end of 2019, birds were lifting bins in 44 suburbs. (Barbara Klump/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior) Photo: Associated Press
CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) A few years ago, a Sydney scientist noticed a sulfur-crested cockatoo opening his trash bin. Not every resident would be thrilled, but ornithologist Richard Major was impressed by the ingenuity.
Meanwhile in Australia, cockatoos are biting tails of kangaroos and stealing their food.
WASHINGTON (AP) â A few years ago, a scientist in Sydney, Australia, noticed a sulfur-crested cockatoo opening his trash bin. Not every resident would be thrilled, but ornithologist Richard Major was impressed by the ingenuity.
It s quite a feat for a bird to grasp a bin lid with its beak, pry it open, then shuffle far enough along the bin s edge that the lid falls backward, revealing edible trash treasures inside.
Intrigued, Major teamed up with researchers in Germany to study how many cockatoos learned this trick. In early 2018, they found from a survey of residents that birds in three Sydney suburbs had mastered the novel foraging technique. By the end of 2019, birds were lifting bins in 44 suburbs.
Des scientifiques étudient des cacatoès qui ouvrent des couvercles de poubelles journaldemontreal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from journaldemontreal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
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 (Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior), 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 eac