Clever Cockatoos Mimicking Hum
BY MAGGIE YAN
On June 3, 2025, author Gemma Conroy published an article in The New York Times relaying how in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, can act human-like by being able to drink from public water fountains.
This is an innovation that more and more birds have adopted over the past few years. Researchers including Barbara C. Klump, a behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, are studying how these cockatoos can make this happen.
critical observation happened in 2018: Dr. Klump spotted the birds drinking from public bubblers during a field research for her other project. In the beginning, she just thought it may be an accident of someone forgetting to close the tap, but looking back through the video footage, she saw the bird grabbing the handle with its foot. Surprisingly, these birds chose to drink water in a hard and confusing way, even if there were easy sources of water nearby. Dr. Klump also mentioned that of the tagged birds tried to use the water fountain, showing that this skill is actually really common among them.
The cockatoos are known for their cleverness, which is one reason that helps them survive in the city. They learn from each other, making it easier to develop new skills. “Similar to the way humans pick up new skills, the cockatoos probably developed their fountain-hacking talents through a mix of watching one another and individual experimentation, Dr. Klump said.”
Gemma Conroy found that sulfur-crested cockatoos in Sydney use drinking fountains. About 70% tried, but fewer than half succeeded, showing this skill is complex. They likely learn by watching each other. This wasn’t the only time that these cockatoos impressed these researchers; they also knew how to flip open garbage bins.
Using drinking fountains is interesting because this shows that cockatoos sought a challenge. They choose to use fountains even when easier water is nearby. They also open garbage bins, which shows they enjoy solving problems. Dr. Klump mentioned, that if there’s no urgent need and you’re not very thirsty, you might as well enjoy yourself. This shows that these birds can also have playful ideas in their lives.
When the researchers wanted to look deeper, they conducted experiments by recording footage of the birds using the drinking fountains. They recorded over 500 times attempts in only 44 days. They also noticed that not all the birds were able to succeed in using the fountain, which shows that it still takes skills to work. Another interesting observation is that both genders of birds were able to drink from the fountain equally, showing their ability to learn from each other.
To conclude, remind us how smart the wildlife can be.
Link to article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/science/cockatoos-water-fountains-sydney-australia.html