Goffin's cockatoos join humans, chimps as only species known to use toolset to complete tasks: Study

A new research shows that Goffin’s cockatoos can combine multiple tools to complete a complex task, a phenomenon which has only been observed only in humans and chimpanzees, so far. Scientists have found that the parrots were able to figure out how to use a set of tools, select the best one for the execution of the task, and even transport the tool together before trying to use them. Notably, tool use has been observed in a handful of other species including, orangutans, sea otters, crows, and so on, but these animals were only able to use single tools and complete simple tasks.

The study published on Friday (February 10) in the journal of Current Biology, also found that Goffin’s cockatoos are actually proficient at creating instruments to use them. In a series of experiments, the birds were tasked with retrieving cashew nuts from behind a clear sheet in a box by using a short, pointy stick to break open the barrier and a long, flexible straw-like tool to fish the nut out.

ALSO READ |With tools as ‘cutlery’, wild cockatoos extract seeds from tropical fruit

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Out of the 10 cockatoos who were a part of the study, seven were able to execute the task, but it was two birds named Figaro and Fini who completed the task within 35 seconds, on their first attempt, which stunned the researchers. Furthermore, six birds were able to complete nine consecutive trials for three continuous days, successfully. Subsequently, five were moved to the second experiment where the birds were presented with a box which required either one or two tools to access a nut inside, at random.

Similarly, as a part of the final experiment, the five birds were again presented with one of the two boxes, at random, but this time they were placed on a platform with two tools placed on the table, which meant that the bird had to collect the tools before climbing the ladder or flying to retrieve the nut. Notably, four out of the five birds began to eventually carry the tools together which indicated that they viewed the tools as a set.

ALSO WATCH |Scientists teach cockatoos to play 'golf' using a puzzle box

In a statement, the study’s first author, Antonio Osuna-Mascaró, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, said, “With this experiment, we can say that, like chimpanzees, Goffin’s cockatoos not only appear to be to using toolsets, but they know that they are using toolsets.” He also went on to describe the birds’ flexibility of behaviour as “stunning.”

“The cockatoos had to act according to the problem; sometimes the toolset was needed, and sometimes only one tool was enough,” said Osuna-Mascaró. Meanwhile, the senior author of the study and cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Alice Auersperg, also said that the researchers were not sure if the cockatoos would transport two objects together. She added, “It was a little bit of a gamble because I have seen birds combining objects playfully, but they very rarely transport more than one object together in their normal behaviour.”

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.