In the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, many cockatoos have surprised scientists by opening water taps and drinking water themselves. One of the explanations for this puzzling behavior is that these birds just want to do something fun.

Cockatoos are a bird species of bird that are is found in Australia and the islands around Oceania. They are known for their intelligence, affection for their owners, and also their playfulness. Their characteristics can be of significant help when it comes to explaining their puzzling behavior to retrieve for retrieving water.

The birds have been seen opening the water taps with their beak and feet through some video footage. At first, Barbara C. Klump, an author of a bird study believed that someone had forgotten to turn the tap off. However, through later investigation, the scientists found that the smart birds deftly opened the taps themselves. Even though there were plenty of water sources like small creeks nearby, the birds still chose to go through this process of retrieving water.

Dr. Klump explains, “If there is no super urgent need and you’re not dying of thirst, then why not do something you enjoy?” This is one of the explanations made to explain why the birds did this action regardless of the weather or temperature. Dr. Klump believes that drinking from this water supply is just the birds’ way of fun.

These clever cockatoos have also been seen doing strange actions in these suburban environments. For example, male cockatoos have been seen flipping over the lids of garbage cans. They also seem very experienced with these actions. Local wildlife officials told Dr. Klump that “the cockatoos in the area had been doing so for years.”

To catch these birds in action, Dr. Klump and her colleagues tagged 24 cockatoos to keep track of them over a time span of 44 days. Over that period of time, 70 percent of the birds attempted to use the water taps, but only less than half succeeded. This suggests that just like how mostly male cockatoos were seen flipping over garbage cans, opening taps also needs a complex sequence of actions. This then requires good motor skills that not all cockatoos can manage and master.

Andrea Griffin, a behavioral ecologist, wasn’t surprised by these birds’ actions, and He says, “There are a lot of parameters that would favor innovations in a species like this.” Dr. Klump and her colleagues are also investigating further, curious about what these birds would do next. Hopefully, they can find out what the cockatoos are planning.

Sources:

https://www.thesprucepets.com/cockatoos-as-pets-1238604