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Keas is a species of parrot unique to New Zealand. This is one of the few species of alpine parrots, and is also considered one of the smartest birds on Earth. Kakapo is a parrot closest to kea. Keas can solve logic puzzles and have the same level of intelligence as a four-year-old. They are said to have the same cognitive abilities as many species of monkeys. The Keas, dubbed the “clowns of the Alps,” are wreaking havoc among New Zealanders by bombarding dive cars, removing trash can lids and even opening sliding glass doors.
Meet Bruce
One particular kea, Bruce, is making a splash this week after new research discusses his ingenious brushing skills. He learned to overcome his disability and to cleanse himself with pebbles.
A study from New Zealand looks at Bruce’s unique smartening habits. Bruce is no ordinary kea, however, and lacks an upper beak. This is a serious disadvantage for wild birds.
In his nature reserve, Bruce bragged about his cleverness. In fact, he learned to peel. This type of behavior is called self-service tools. Researchers are studying this type of behavior when an animal uses an inanimate object for its own care. In Bruce’s case, he chose pebbles to smarten up.
Usually the kea parrot uses its beak to preen. They have long and curved beaks that are ideal for removing dirt from feathers. Due to the lack of a beak, Bruce created his own solution.
The study
In the study, the researchers compared the cases where Bruce took a pebble to smarten up with cases where he just randomly took a pebble. They found that 90% of the time Bruce chose the pebble, he ended up using it as a personal care product.
But how did Bruce hold the pebble with his broken beak?
He clamped a pebble between his lower lip and tongue. This was another find that researchers used to prove that Bruce’s obsession with the stone was deliberate. Bruce only used pebbles of a certain size to smarten him up. These pebbles were easy to pick up, hold and manipulate despite Bruce’s broken beak.
Other keas around him collected larger pebbles, but never used them as tools. Bruce’s pebble cleaning is unique to him, even within his own community.
Some skeptics have argued that Bruce may have collected the pebbles at random. However, the study used the following five facts to prove Bruce’s intentions:
- More than 90% of the times Bruce picked up a pebble, he used it to preen himself.
- When Bruce dropped his pebble, he picked it up and continued to smarten up 95% of the time.
- Bruce constantly chose pebbles of the same size to preen. He also did not collect other pebbles in his surroundings, only those that met his instrument standards.
- No other parrots in Bruce’s environment used pebbles to preen. Bruce was unique in this aspect and could not learn this action from a kea comrade.
- No other parrots in his community have picked up pebbles the same size as Bruce’s scrubbing pebbles.
Results
Due to his unique pretense skills, Bruce stands out in the kea community. However, this study shows more than just Bruce’s individual cognitive abilities. From the researcher’s observations of Bruce, they can conclude that self-care and tool innovation based on necessity are deliberate acts within certain bird species.
Thanks to Bruce, we will be able to learn even more about the cognitive abilities of the parrot and the unique characteristics of the instruments.
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