Sulfur-crested cockatoos don’t have the best reputation around their human neighbors in Stanwell Park, an affluent suburb an hour’s drive

Why Australia’s Trash Bin–Raiding Cockatoos Are the ‘Punks of the Bird World’

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2021-07-23 07:00:04

Sulfur-crested cockatoos don’t have the best reputation around their human neighbors in Stanwell Park, an affluent suburb an hour’s drive south of Sydney, Australia. The wild animals have flourished in an urban environment, and with their success in the cityscape, they’ve developed some rowdy new habits—like flipping open trash bin lids to access the goodies within. In 2014, this behavior earned the cockatoos a bit of bad press in the local community magazine. Ornithologist Richard Major first learned about the string of bird-brained bin raids in his neighborhood when he was interviewed for the article. At the time, he hadn’t witnessed the crime firsthand yet, but he and his fellow researchers decided to investigate the behavior in 2018.

Now, in a new study published today in the journal Science, the team reports these clever cockatoos can learn this garbage foraging behavior within their social groups, with more birds picking up the skill each year.

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