As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday, 18 November 2018

Goffin's cockatoos can create and manipulate novel tools



Cockatoos adjust length, but not width, when making their cardboard tools
Date: November 7, 2018
Source: PLOS
Goffin's cockatoos can tear cardboard into long strips as tools to reach food -- but fail to adjust strip width to fit through narrow openings, according to a new study.
Goffin's cockatoos can tear cardboard into long strips as tools to reach food -- but fail to adjust strip width to fit through narrow openings, according to a study published November 7, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by A.M.I. Auersperg from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and colleagues.
The Goffin's cockatoo (Cacatua goffiniana) is a type of parrot. Captive Goffins are capable of inventing and manipulating tools, even though they aren't known to use tools habitually. The authors of the present study investigated two questions: do Goffins adjust tool properties to save effort, and if so, how accurately can they adjust tool dimensions for the task? The authors supplied six adult cockatoos with large cardboard sheets to tear into strips as tools for the testing apparatus: a food platform with a food reward set at varying distances (4-16cm) behind a small opening which also varied in width (1-2cm).
Continued  
Posted by at
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)