All of us have actually heard plenty about the intelligence of dolphins, orangutans, and chimpanzees, however very few people understand about the keen intelligence of Goffins cockatoos, a species of white parrot that has actually now discovered to modify their meals.
2 cockatoo parrots. Image credits: Mikhail Nilov/Pexels
They do this actively with every piece they pick to eat, spending a significant amount of time and energy on this procedure.
They chose to additional study this unique behavior and carried out an experiment including 18 Goffins cockatoos. All of these birds were observed for 12 days throughout their lunch break..
Goffins cockatoos are proficient animals. Some previous studies have actually revealed that these birds can open locks, raid garbage bins, and even manufacture tools out of cardboard for getting hard-to-reach food products.
These findings also recommend that the birds had actually already discovered which food items tasted excellent after soaking and which didnt..
” We observed 7 out of 18 cockatoos dunking food in the water. They soaked three food types: rusk, dried banana chips, and dried coconut chips. Other food types, like apple pieces, dried berries, seeds, or pellets, were never ever dunked throughout our observations,” the study authors note..
” To go through all this effort just to change the texture of your food is quite outstanding,” Alice Auersperg, among the research study authors and the head of the Goffin Lab, informed The New York Times.
Remarkably, while some cockatoos dipped their food and quickly pulled it out and ate it, a few showed perseverance by awaiting approximately 30 seconds. This allowed their rusk piece to soak up more water, leading to a softer texture.
The authors of the present research study also concentrated on such skills just, generally leaving the birds undisturbed throughout their lunch break..
A new study from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna reveals that some of the Goffins cockatoos at their Goffin Lab dip their food (rusk) in water before consuming it, making the hard rusk softer and much easier to chew..
The unexpected food-soaking habits.
” They were prepared to wait for it to soak, and that takes a lot of impulse control,” Jeroen Zewald, one of the study authors and a doctoral student at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, said..
However, one day, a researcher mistakenly observed a parrot named Pipin soaking its food in a water tub that the birds typically used for bathing and satiating their thirst. After some time, the researcher discovered two other cockatoos called Kiwi and Muki showing the very same behavior. A quick search on YouTube illustrates several other cockatoos exhibiting the same behavior.
This was unexpected since rusk is relatively quickly taken in by cockatoos, and the majority of other birds also consume it directly without including any individual touch..
Do wild Goffins cockatoos also reveal this habits?
One day, a researcher accidentally observed a parrot named Pipin soaking its food in a water tub that the birds normally utilized for bathing and satiating their thirst. A fast search on YouTube illustrates several other cockatoos exhibiting the exact same habits.
Hopefully, the research study authors will discover the answers to all such concerns with further research.The research study has been released in the journal Biology Letters..
” We observed seven out of 18 cockatoos dunking food in the water. They soaked three food types: rusk, dried banana chips, and dried coconut chips.
Whether Kiwi and Muki came up with the dunking strategy independently or they discovered it by seeing Pipin, is unidentified.
In this case, the parrots resolved an issue that they came across unrelated to any research study. The researchers just mistakenly observed them while they were carrying out the option..
The findings raise numerous brand-new questions, for example, scientists still do not know how the birds learned this habits. Generally, during an experiment, researchers present an issue before the topics who then solve it..
Another crucial question: is this a common behavior amongst Goffins cockatoos or is this something that is unique to the birds in captivity? Wild Goffins cockatoos do not get to consume rusk and there are no water tubs in the forest, so can they also learn this habits?