Some Sydney residents may have made strange comments: Sulfur-crested cockatoos (cacatua galerita) stung in their compartment, opened without complexes in the first few packs. we knew psitsiformes, an order of tropical birds that groups parrots, parrots and cockatoos for their complex vocal dialect, but not for their ability to get used to closed residential compartments!
“Demonstrating that opportunistic eating behavior is not due to genetic factors remains a challenge.
The sulphur-crested cockatoo is a sociable species native to eastern Australia, common in cities, with a life expectancy of up to 40 years in the wild. Curious, the researchers wanted to understand whether this behavior was transmitted by genetic inheritance, or if it was acquired over the course of individuals’ lives. “Demonstrating that opportunistic eating behavior is not due to genetic factors remains a challenge.Study lead author Barbara C. Klump said in a statement.
publication, published in the journal Science Relied on Participatory Science to answer this question on July 22, 2021. For this, the researchers used direct observation of volunteers in the Sydney and Wollongong regions of Australia. For two years, 1,322 participants filled out an online questionnaire to note whether they observed this behavior in their neighborhood. The researchers collected 1,396 responses that covered 478 neighborhoods. 338 responses were positive – 44 neighborhood cockatoos opened the litter box, and 93.3% of the time, they were not alone, highlighting the possibility of other individuals observing and thus learning this behavior.
Sulfur-crested Cockatoos (cacatua galerita) doing garbage in Australia. (clump and others. 2021)
Acquired Behavior in Cockatoo
To determine whether this behavior is innate or acquired, the researchers analyzed the presence of these behaviors in space and time using a model. The new observations are found in neighborhoods where these behaviors have already been observed and the model is formal: birds do indeed acquire this behavior. “These results clearly show that individuals did indeed learn the behavior from other cockatoos in their surroundings.says Barbara C. Clump.
The spread of dustbin openings in the Sydney and Wollongong areas. Reported in only three suburbs before 2018, this behavior spread to 44 suburbs by the end of 2019. The suburbs mentioned in black gave only negative responses, while the suburbs received at least two positive reports for the respective period. The forest area (more than 9.6% of the area covered by 10 to 15 m tall trees) is shown in dark grey. These areas act as natural barriers to the spread of this behavior. (Klump et al. 2021)
The scientists then became interested in the complexity of the behavior, opening these compartments. They investigated whether there were different modes of action between individuals and between the sites studied. For this, the authors marked with colored felt-tip pens the feathers of 486 cockatoos in three sites of high activity. They took the opportunity to note down various criteria such as age, gender and weight. They also observed marked individuals to study parameters such as social engagement with other individuals, and dominance rank.
Using cameras, they filmed and analyzed 160 direct observations, which showed that these birds have different opening techniques depending on the terrain and the individuals. A chance for the researchers: The bins are all the same, so the protocol was standardized, thus avoiding bias.
The technique describes a complex behavior involving several options in each of the five steps for opening the lid of a garbage can. The choice of alternatives depends on the individual and is more common among individuals who are closer than geographically distant. This suggests that local subcultures are being formed according to geographic locations.
law of the strongest
Cockatoos that tried to open garbage cans and were most successful were males, an observation reinforced by dominance rank in the hierarchy. Unsurprisingly and as is the case with other species, this is due to the fact that a higher social rank confers privileged access to a food resource. In addition, low-ranking cockatoos were often hunted by higher-ranked individuals, indicating a lower learning ability in these individuals. Finally, the images manage to see young cockatoos open garbage cans, suggesting early transmission between individuals of different ages.
The imbalance between males and females who successfully lift the garbage can due to the fact that males, who are heavier and stronger than females, are at an advantage. So far only the males of Nestor kéa (nester big), a bird endemic to New Zealand, was known to open garbage cans.
Analyst. Amateur problem solver. Wannabe internet expert. Coffee geek. Tv guru. Award-winning communicator. Food nerd.