Goffin's cockatoos are ahead of parrots and corvids in the fight for the most clever birds as they show off their extraordinary ability to use combined tools.
The birds' ability to work with more than one instrument at the same time has been crucial in human technical advancement, although it is rare in other animals.
Teaching Cockatoos to Play Golf
Known for their inventiveness in developing new tools and cutlery, Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) have just demonstrated the usage of a composite tool, as per Science Alert.
Biologist Antonio Osuna-Mascaró of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna designed an experiment that they referred to as the Golf Club Task.
To activate the reward, a ball must be inserted into the puzzle box's green carpeted floor and inserted into a hole with the help of a stick.
Some of the avian brains in the experiment found this simple.
Five of the eleven cockatoos were able to figure out the problem, which resulted in a significant reduction in trial time.
There is no evidence to support this idea, but prior Goffin problem-solving performances imply that birds were able to rapidly recognize and memorize the necessary procedures after their initial success, according to the researchers' article.
In addition, the three cockatoos (Figaro, Pipin, and Fini) that completed the task within the trial's criteria did it in a variety of ways.
Also Read: Brainy Cockatoos Make Economic Decisions in Tool Use Experiments
How Cockatoos Invent Their Technique
To see how each animal devised its own unique method for gripping and striking the ball was one of the most fascinating aspects of the procedure, said Osuna-Mascaró.
One of the birds held the stick between the mandibles, another held it between the beak tip and tongue, and a third held it with his claw, almost like primates.
The employment of non-stereotyped tools indicates spontaneous creativity and a broader range of cognitive processes than the team's hypothesis predicts are inherited.
It's comparable to how chimpanzees go about fishing for termites, using their own unique methods.
Although capable of using cutting-edge technology such as iPads, even human youngsters under the age of eight have difficulty coming up with novel solutions to such problems.
According to Sarah Beck, a developmental psychologist at Birmingham's University of Birmingham, this study is the first to show that cockatoos can coordinate instruments to solve a problem.
Aiming is a skill that is just as important to birds as it is to humans, and this challenge proves it.
The stick's position had to be shifted in order to aim for the correct platform above the number of times they would have it.
Cockatoos' Reaction to Failure
During the first experiment, some birds were unable to solve the puzzle box.
This tool may be learned by observation, according to a follow-up.
Some students, after observing a more advanced peer perform the assignment, engaged more with the puzzle box, but did not completely mimic their demonstration' methods, as per Science Daily.
This is consistent with prior studies demonstrating that Goffin's learnt by emulation, not imitation.
Some of the other cockatoos, on the other hand, became frustrated and launched a tantrum at the box, resulting in its destruction.
"This could be explained by the frustration caused by viewing a task being solved by another individual, but we also cannot rule out the similarly frustrating effect of accumulating unsuccessful sessions," Osuna-Mascaró and team wrote.
In a clever twist, Figaro, one of the rascals, used the stick to lift the box, then dropped it, causing the treat to be released by the thump.
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