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Posted: 8th November 2012

Cockatoo shows ability to make and use tools
A parrot-species "first", say researchers

A captive-bred cockatoo that makes and uses tools to reach food has surprised researches, as the species is not known to use tools in the wild.

The Goffin's cockatoo named Figaro, has been seen repeatedly breaking off splinters from a wooden beam and using them to reach nuts on the other side of his wire enclosure in Austria.

Figaro's tool-making and using abilities were first seen when he accidentally dropped a pebble out of reach that he had been playing with. After some unsuccessful attempts with his claw, Figaro used a stick from his aviary floor to fish the pebble back.

A team of researchers have published a study in the Current Biology journal, after carrying out a series of tests that involved placing nuts outside Figaro's enclosure. Their results were video-recorded.

Ten trials took place over three days, in which Figaro was successful in retrieving the nut for each. The researchers also reported that Figaro's ability to make suitable tools first time improved over the course of the tests.

"No-one has ever reported [a parrot] sculpturing a tool out of shapeless wood in order to use it later with great sophistication," said Professor Alex Kacelnik of Oxford University, an author of the study.

"It's almost as if he discovered a solution and then managed to apply it."

Click here to watch the video.



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