Plain pasta? No, thank you. Study finds cockatoos dunk their snacks in dip for flavour

Cockatoos are known for their problem-solving skills, and it seems that sometimes their problem is that their food is just too bland. A recent study by cognitive biologists has revealed that some cockatoos have found a creative solution to this issue – by dunking their plain snacks into a tasty dip.

According to Jeroen Zewald, a PhD student at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna and co-author of the study, it is quite rare for animals to mix ingredients together themselves. The cockatoos in this study were not just showing a preference for a certain taste, but actively trying to enhance the flavor of their food.

The research, published in the journal Current Biology, is groundbreaking in the field of animal behavior. Zewald noted that the only other example of animals flavoring their food was a study from 1965, where wild Japanese macaques were observed dipping potatoes in salt water.

The study began when researchers observed Goffin cockatoos at an Austrian aviary dunking their dry rusks of bread into water. Further investigation revealed that the birds were doing this to soften the food, primarily focusing on the rusks and leaving them in water for a significant amount of time until they were mushy. This behavior has also been observed in several species of wild birds.

More recently, Zewald and his colleagues noticed a new snacking ritual among cockatoos – dunking their food in blueberry soy yogurt. To investigate this further, the researchers conducted 14 trials on 18 cockatoos, offering them different combinations of food alongside water, blueberry soy yogurt, and plain soy yogurt. The results showed that half of the birds preferred dipping their food in the blueberry yogurt, especially when it came to pasta.

The cockatoos displayed enthusiastic behavior, dragging the noodles through the yogurt to soak up as much flavor as possible. They even double-dipped, indicating a strong preference for the blueberry flavor.

Parrot behavior experts believe that the birds’ choice of dip makes perfect sense, as parrots have a sense of taste and gravitate towards sweet foods. Additionally, cockatoos are known for using tools and holding their food in their feet, which may explain their tactile approach to dunking food.

Zewald is now interested in whether the cockatoos who have adopted this dunking behavior will teach it to others in the group. The potential spread of this taste-enhancing trick among the birds could shed further light on their social learning abilities and dietary preferences.

Overall, the study highlights the sophisticated problem-solving abilities and culinary creativity of cockatoos, offering valuable insights into the complex behavior of these intelligent birds.