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.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Cockatoos crack lock-picking puzzle

By Michelle Warwicker, BBC Nature

Cockatoos can pick their way through a series of locks to reach a reward, scientists have found.

Researchers presented 10 birds with a box containing a cashew nut treat, which they could reach by removing five different interlocking devices.

One of the Goffin's cockatoos, called "Pipin", solved the complex mechanical puzzle unassisted within two hours.

Several other birds mastered the task after observing peers or being presented with the locks incrementally.

The study, carried out by scientists from the University of Oxford in the UK, the University of Vienna in Austria and the Max Planck Institute in Germany, is published in the journal PLoS One.

To reach the nut, the captive Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffini) had to remove a pin, followed by a screw, a bolt, then turn a wheel and move a latch sideways.

"The progress of the birds towards the solution is unaffected by the fact that the goal is very distant," said Professor Alex Kacelnik from the University of Oxford's department of zoology, who co-authored the study.

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