Sulphur-crested cockatoos have been talked about for several years now in the Australian press because they multiply in the Sydney area, and especially because they put the nerves of locals to the test while looking for food.
Every week, the same scene is repeated: the inhabitants take out their individual dumpsters and, before the garbage collectors pass, cockatoos come to rest on it then open the lid to take out the leftover meals, from the bottoms of packets of crisps to the boxes. badly emptied cans. Problem: open bins are not collected, so residents find themselves having to wait for the next collection and they go crazy. Because it starts again. Again and again.
Today, ABC is talking about a “inter-species tussle” between humans and birds, a showdown that researchers have decided to study and their behavioral study has just been published in the journal Current Biology. It demonstrates the exceptional intelligence of cockatoos who always manage to open these dumpsters, whether there are piles of bricks on the lid, two-liter bottles fixed to weight the opening, or even cleats blocking the handle.
In this war of innovation, the birds are catching up with humans, pushing the bricks, two, three, four to lift the lids. Better still, according to the researchers, just like us, they pass on the techniques to each other and thus progress even faster.
An escalation which in some cases can stop. The study says it: the inhabitants who saw the cockatoos turn away from their garbage cans are those who decided to fight against food waste, no longer throw away food, cook their leftovers and finish their plates. Result: bins devoid of any leftover food no longer interest birds.
In the end, all the same, one wonders who is the smartest in this business? The human who puts bricks on a trash can lid or the cockatoo who pushes them? The human who gives advice to his neighbor on how to get rid of those cursed cockatoos, or the cockatoo who shows his congener how to get rid of those cursed traps?