Austrian researchers have found that Goffin’s cockatoos understand the different functions of tools and determine when one tool will do and when they need a whole set. This is reported by Gismeteo with reference to the journal Current Biology.
It is noted that this fact makes Goffin’s cockatoo, along with chimpanzees, the only known non-human creatures to use kits.
Cockatoos in general are remarkably intelligent birds. In 2021, scientists found that Goffin’s cockatoos use up to three devices in succession to get close to Cerberus mangas fruits. They have a tough outer skin that the birds struggle to pierce with their beaks. It has been observed that in the wild they also use branches for this. To overcome numerous obstacles, birds use a strong tool for wedging the fruit, a thin tool for cutting it, and a long wide one as a spoon.
The results obtained left the researchers with many questions. The most important among them was whether the birds went through each stage of the task as it came, or whether they initially viewed the tools as a set. The first would be great, but the second would be truly innovative.
The researchers first created a puzzle in which the cockatoo had to use two tools provided to them in succession, one short and rigid and the other long and flexible, in order to access some cashew nuts. After training, the birds were faced with a second task, which randomly included either a task that required two tools at once, or only one long one. The third test was similar to the second, but the instruments were located in a hard to reach place.
Of the ten birds, three failed to figure out how to use both tools to access cashews in the first trial, and one did so inconsistently.
Of those who completed the first trial, not all consistently used both at the same time when required. Only one of them proved to be almost perfect – using both devices when necessary, and only one when not. The other two cockatoos also coped with the task quite effectively, which excludes chance.
Prior to Jane Goodall’s observations of chimpanzees, it was believed that no species other than humans used tools at all, let alone set.
“The experiment proved that birds do not just use tools, but also realize that such a set is needed to solve a specific problem,” said Dr. Antonio Osuna-Mascaro.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
