Study: Parrots continue to open rubbish bins in Australia

In the Australian state, Parrots learned how to open trash cans, and how to bypass some poles put up by Sydney suburbs. Experts have questioned this ability and the techniques Australians are using

More parrots macaw Kakatoa Galerita Spotted near the boxes in search of food. In the suburbs of Sydney, their presence has increased over the years. They gather in chests where they learned to open them, imitating their own kind.

Previous studies had already highlighted the ability of macaw parrots, but now it appears that these yellow-crowned birds have outdone themselves. Cunningly defrauding the methods used by citizens to keep them away. The confirmation comes from a new study recently published in the journal current biology.

When I first saw a video of cockatoo opening boxes, I thought it was an interesting and unique behavior, and I knew we had to look into it, comments Barbara Clamp of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior, lead author of the research.

Parakeets are able to open chests with their beak, but each uses a different strategy that may or may not involve using a paw as an aid.

Researchers recently surveyed 1,134 residents of Greater Sydney and Wollongong and found that residents tried to use bricks, stones, water bottles, and ropes to prevent macaws from eating waste.

Each time the parrot managed to overcome the obstacle, the technique was changed. However, so far the varied and imaginative attempts seem to have served nothing.

@ Current Biology

According to experts, it would have been not only interaction between individuals of the same species, but also wildlife and humans, and the resulting conflict could have arisen.

Dr. Klump concludes that it is not only social learning on the part of the parrot, but also social learning on the human side.

Undoubtedly, this behavior is highlighted by the very rapid transformation of their environment and the ease with which these birds can obtain food in litter boxes. Parakeets seem to love carbohydrates, for example.

source: current biology

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