The goffin cockatoo is a species of cockatoo that lives in Indonesia. A study published in the journal ‘Current Biology’ on the species concluded something novel. Cockatoos know how to use tools. They can use up to three different tools to extract seeds from a fruit.
In controlled experiments, this ability was determined. They recognize when a job requires more than one tool. “They act like chimpanzees. They use tool sets,” says first author Antonio Osuna-Mascaró. He is an evolutionary biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria. Their behavioral flexibility is amazing.
Quick learners
They were inspired by the analysis of chimpanzee behavior. They fish for termites by a two-step process. First, they use a blunt stick to open holes in the termite mound, and then they insert a flexible probe to “fish” for termites. In this study, the cockatoos were to fish for cashew nuts instead of termites.
A box containing a cashew nut behind a transparent paper membrane was used. To reach it, the cockatoos had to pierce the membrane and “fish” for the cashew. They were provided with a short, pointed stick for piercing. And a plastic straw split in half vertically for fishing. Seven of the ten cockatoos tested learned on their own to extract the cashews by piercing the membrane.
Each cockatoo used a slightly different technique. Each cockatoo was then presented with two different types of boxes. It was one with a membrane and one without. They acted according to the problem. Sometimes they used both tools, sometimes one.
Metacognition
In other tests, they put the tools away from the target. According to the box presented to them, they knew how to choose the correct solution. They knew in advance when they needed two tools.
Much remains to be learned about tool use by these birds. “They have been underestimated and understudied,” say the authors. “Cockatoos know how to use tools dexterously. We find the switching behavior very interesting. We are certainly going to use it to explore their decision-making and metacognition, i.e., their ability to recognize their own knowledge.”
