Cockatoos understand when a job requires a toolkit

Goffin parrots know when they need multiple tools to retrieve food. Chimpanzees are the only non-human animals to exhibit this.

To Claire Wilson

A parrot can understand that you need to bring a two-piece “toolkit” to retrieve cashew treats.

This leaves chimpanzees second only to non-human animals that seem to view multiple tools as part of a set necessary to achieve a single goal.

Goffin’s Parrot (gofinia parrot) is a small white parrot from Indonesia. A captive bird, he is seen using three artificial tools to extract the seeds from within the stone of the fruit.

However, it was unclear if Tori understood that all three items were part of the set, or if she simply used each tool in turn as needed.

The team at Osuna-Mascaró presented the parrots with cashew nuts and placed them in a box behind a transparent cover. To obtain it, the bird had to first use a short, pointed stick to pierce the cover, and then use a long straw to extract the nut. 7 out of 10 birds have found a way to do this.

But did the birds recognize the two items as part of the set? To find out, five of the successful birds were tested again. This time, the team placed the boxes higher than the tools provided, so the parrot had to make a short and difficult vertical flight to carry them, four of which he In one trip he learned to carry two tools in a box.

“They use tools as more than collections of parts,” says Osuna-Mascaró. “Many animals use tools, but they use them in rigid ways, depending on their innate behavior. Others can use tools in flexible ways to solve new problems.” .”

Some chimpanzees can also use multiple tools. When termites “fish” on large insect mounds, they use short, stiff sticks to burrow into the nest and push long, flexible sticks into the mound. Termites bite it. Chimpanzees also bring both types of sticks to termite mounds when needed.

“We know brain size is not a good indicator of intelligence,” said Alex Kaselnik of the University of Oxford. “Goffin’s parrots are probably not unique.” [among birds] – It’s just that they were studied. “

Sign up for Wild Wild Life. Our free monthly newsletter celebrates the diversity and science of the animals, plants, and other strange and wonderful inhabitants of our planet.