Wild Things Animals

Cockatoos learn from each other how to open garbage bins

It’s an example of social learning, and the basis of a foraging culture

An award-winning comic series from Science News Explores

JoAnna Wendel

By Sarah Zielinski and JoAnna Wendel

itle panel for comic. Text reads "Clever Cockatoos" Written by Sarah Zielinski, Illustrated by JoAnna Wendel. Image: 3 cockatoos on a fence watch another cockatoo open a trashcan. Cockatoos: "Holy moly! Wow!"
Image: A researcher watching a cockatoo on her computer monitor. Text: One day, not so long ago, Barbara Klump and her colleagues received a video from a fellow researcher in Australia. In the video, a sulfur-crested cockatoo opened up a trash bin all on its own. Klump: What? How is that bird doing that? Did it figure it out on its own? Did it learn the behavior? How many cockatoos can do this? Klump’s mind filled with questions. And she knew how to find the answers. After all, she is a behavioral ecologist who now works at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Radolfzell, Germany.
Image: 5 white birds sit in trees or on top of an alley fence. Text: Sulfur-crested cockatoos are a common bird in Australian cities and suburbs. The noisy parrots nest in trees and aren’t afraid of people. They’ll eat seeds, roots, flowers — and human food. Pretty much anything they can get. Birds: Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!
Klump and her colleagues created a survey. They asked people in and around Sydney, Australia to report if they had seen a cockatoo open a trash bin and when. The survey also asked if people had NOT seen a bird completing the task. Then the team mapped the behavior to see how it spread over time. In early 2018, birds opened bins in three suburbs. By the end of 2019, they did it in 44 suburbs.
Image: Two cockatoos sitting on a branch looking at a third cockatoo opening a trashcan. Birds: Wow, he’s a genius! I’ve got to try that myself! Text: Klump and her colleagues used a computer model to study the data. It considered factors like how far the birds can travel and population size. The researchers could see that the behavior spread through social learning. Social learning is learning through observation. It’s the basis of culture. The one exception was a bird that must have figured this out on its own in late 2018. That started off its spread of the behavior in a new area.
Text: Next, Klump and her team marked 486 cockatoos at three sites with a temporary paint. On garbage day, the researchers made videos of bin-opening behavior. From the videos, they could see that bin opening had five steps. Image: A cockatoo opening a trashcan in 5 steps. 1. Pry. 2. Open. 3. Hold. 4. Walk. 5. Flip.
Text: But each step had variations. Different birds performed each one a little bit differently. Not only do the birds have a culture of foraging, Klump says, but there are subcultures based on these variations in behavior. Image: a cockatoo opening a trashcan two different ways. One uses its beak to grasp the lid, the other uses a foot.
Text: Lastly, Klump’s team went to one spot, Stanwell Park, and looked at which birds opened bins. Not all birds performed the task. In fact, only 9 out of 114 did. Another 27 tried and failed. Image: A researcher sits in a park on a bench under a tree. She is taking notes and watching a cockatoo attempt to open a trashcan. The bird has not opened the lid. Bird: Open, dangit!
Image: Four cockatoos look into a trash bin. Text: Most bin-openers were male birds. That might be due to their higher social status. Or it could be because they’re bigger than females. Bin lids are heavy and not easy to open. Or it could be that other birds know they just have to wait for an open garbage bin to get a free meal.
Text: The bin-opening behavior only exists because of humans, Klump notes. And it shows how well these birds can adapt to life in the big city. Image: Cockatoo on an open trash bin rim, holding a banana peel in its beak. Bird: What’s on the menu today? Rotten banana and stale crackers? My favorite!
JoAnna Wendel

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Power Words

More About Power Words

behavior: The way something, often a person or other organism, acts towards others, or conducts itself.

behavioral ecologist: A scientist who studies how animal behavior relates to where animals live.

colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.

computer model: A program that runs on a computer that creates a model, or simulation, of a real-world feature, phenomenon or event.

culture: (n. in social science) The sum total of typical behaviors and social practices of a related group of people (such as a tribe or nation). Their culture includes their beliefs, values and the symbols that they accept and/or use. Culture is passed on from generation to generation through learning. Scientists once thought culture to be exclusive to humans. Now they recognize some other animals show signs of culture as well, including dolphins and primates.

ecologist: A scientist who works in a branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

factor: Something that plays a role in a particular condition or event; a contributor.

population: (in biology) A group of individuals from the same species that lives in the same area.

social: (adj.) Relating to gatherings of people; a term for animals (or people) that prefer to exist in groups. (noun) A gathering of people, for instance those who belong to a club or other organization, for the purpose of enjoying each other’s company.

social learning: A type of learning in which individuals observe the behavior of others and modify their own behavior based on what they see.

survey: To view, examine, measure or evaluate something, often land or broad aspects of a landscape. (with people) To ask questions that glean data on the opinions, practices (such as dining or sleeping habits), knowledge or skills of a broad range of people. Researchers select the number and types of people questioned in hopes that the answers these individuals give will be representative of others who are their age, belong to the same ethnic group or live in the same region. (n.) The list of questions that will be offered to glean those data.

Citations

Journal:​ ​​B.C. Klump ​et​ ​al.​​ Innovation and geographic spread of a complex foraging culture in an urban parrot.​ ​​Science.​ ​​Vol.​ 373,​ ​July 23, 2021, p. 456. doi:​ ​10.1126/science.abe7808.

About Sarah Zielinski

Sarah Zielinski is the Editor, Print at Science News Explores. She has degrees in biology and journalism and likes to write about ecology, plants and animals. She has three cats: Oscar, Saffir and Alani.

About JoAnna Wendel

JoAnna Wendel is a freelance science writer and cartoonist in Portland, Ore. She loves to make comics about all types of science, but she especially loves drawing planets, invertebrates and sea creatures. When she's not drawing, JoAnna is probably reading, hiking or hanging out with her cat, Pancake.

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