Without a teacher, parrots have learned to use public water taps.

(Dan Tri) - Cockatoos in Australia have developed the skill of using public water taps. This behavior is considered a reflection of the intelligence and outstanding learning ability of this bird species.

Parrot masterfully turns on drinking fountain in park ( Video : ScienceAlert).

At a park in Western Sydney (Australia), the sulphur-crested cockatoo ( scientific name: Cacatua galerita) surprised scientists when it learned to open a public water tap with a handle to drink. This is considered a difficult operation, because it requires a complex combination of legs, beak, as well as body weight.

In a new study published in the scientific journal Biology Letters, a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior (Germany) filmed and monitored this behavior at a fountain in a park.

Over 44 days of observation, the team recorded 525 attempts by the cockatoos to open their trunks, with a success rate of 41%. This is a remarkable number for a wild bird that has not been trained.

Not only that, the behavior of using water taps does not only appear on hot days, but also occurs regularly, mainly at dawn and dusk, the time equivalent to when students line up to drink water after physical education class.

Researchers believe that this behavior may spread within the flock through social learning, meaning that the unfamiliar birds learn from those who already know how to use the water spout.

This is a rare trait in wild birds and has been recorded in highly intelligent animals such as chimpanzees and dolphins.

However, the question of why parrots like to drink from the tap has not been satisfactorily answered. In fact, they can drink water from many different sources in the wild.

Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain this phenomenon, such as: water from the faucet tastes better, the location of the faucet makes it easier to detect predators, or the behavior of using the faucet is a way to show territorial dominance... However, these hypotheses still need further research to verify.

This isn't the first time this parrot has shown remarkable adaptation to urban living.

A few years ago, they were famous for learning to open trash can lids to find food. Although local people tried to change the structure of the lids to prevent this, these clever parrots continued to improvise and learn new ways to open them.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/khong-can-nguoi-day-vet-da-hoc-cach-su-dung-voi-nuoc-cong-cong-20250614082455390.htm