Post by The Australian National University

Our clever cockies have done it again! New research led by ANU has revealed that wild sulphur-crested cockatoos learn what foods are safe to eat by watching each other. This discovery helps explain how the species thrives in rapidly changing urban environments. In a large-scale field experiment across Sydney, scientists studied more than 700 wild cockatoos, training only four birds to eat colourful almonds from feeding stations near five roosting sites.  Within just 10 days, hundreds of other birds adopted the new food, but only in locations where trained individuals were present.  Lead researcher Dr Julia Penndorf, from the University of Exeter, said the results show just how critical social relationships are in shaping animal behaviour in the wild. “Cockatoos don’t rely on trial and error alone – they use social information to decide what’s safe to eat,” Dr Penndorf, who conducted this research while at ANU, said. “Once a few individuals learn something new, that knowledge can spread rapidly through their social networks.” Read more: quicklink.anu.edu.au/35tv ANU College of Science & Medicine