Cockatoos have learned to operate urban water fountains in Australia

Cockatoos are birds of remarkable intelligence. For example, those living in Australia have learned to operate public drinking fountains on their own, surprising researchers with their resourcefulness. This isn’t the first time they’ve amazed people! A few years ago, they discovered how to open garbage bins in search of food. What else are they capable of?

Social behavior of cockatoos and learning through observation

Researcher Barbara Klump, while conducting a separate research project, noticed that sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) are able to open valves of public fountains in Australian parks to drink water. Initially, the phenomenon was observed in Sydney, but soon similar reports began to emerge from other cities – suggesting that these birds are learning from one another. This is known as cultural transmission, the passing of knowledge not genetically, but socially. Experiments showed that birds from one district use the same technique, but a different one than cockatoos from another area, resembling local traditions or behavioral dialects.

The ability to learn in this way requires not only high intelligence, but also skills in observation, mimicking movements, and social interaction. Moreover, some individuals were even able to close the valve after drinking, which may suggest a higher level of understanding of the consequences of their actions. This is an especially astonishing phenomenon, as it involves not only intellect but also motor skills. After all, cockatoos don’t have human-like hands, yet they manage quite well at the fountains using their beaks.

Although cockatoos often come into contact with birds from neighboring groups – conditions that usually favor the spread of new skills – so far, there have been no observations of other individuals adopting this specific technique. Scientists suspect this may be due to structural differences in city fountains – many of them operate using mechanisms different from those found in the park where the observations began.

Reports from various parts of Australia show that the cockatoos’ specialized skills are also being observed in other regions. Thanks to citizen reports, scientists have received information about birds using water fountains even over 800 km from Sydney.

Last week, someone from Brisbane contacted me, says Lucy Aplin, a cognitive ecologist and co-author of the study. According to their account, in one of the local parks, cockatoos are opening fountains with a completely different mechanism than the ones we studied.

Cockatoos in cities – adaptation and challenges

Cockatoos are birds that thrive in urban environments. They are increasingly seen on the outskirts of Australian cities, where they adapt to the presence of humans, noise, and urban infrastructure. Their diet and behavior are evolving: they can open garbage bins, and now they also operate water fountains, as observed by Klump in 2021.

On one hand, this inspires admiration for their adaptive abilities; on the other, it raises questions about the limits of coexistence between wild animals and humans. Local authorities have yet to take any action regarding securing the fountains. Biologists, however, emphasize the importance of monitoring such behaviors and their impact on urban ecosystems.

Cockatoos are very resilient and highly adaptable, commented Lucy Aplin, a cognitive ecologist at the Australian National University and co-author of Klump’s research. I’m prepared to be surprised again.

This phenomenon not only highlights how intelligent cockatoos are but also forces scientists to reconsider the traditional boundaries between human and animal culture. In the future, similar observations may help better understand the mechanisms of the evolution of social behaviors in birds and other animal species.

main photo credit: S B/Wikimedia