Der Alta Will Like This

[skip0110]

(video)

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=22127

 

[Delirious]

Pretty cool...but shouldn't this be in funny vids thread?

 

[NoQuarter]

YouTube version

 

[skip0110]

Pretty cool...but shouldn't this be in funny vids thread?

I see more of a discussion here...is this just learned behavior (mimicking what someone else did) by a very observant bird or is it demonstrating some understanding of how the latch mechanism works?

 

[ND4SPD]

Thats cool, I used to have two budgies that knew how to unlock their door to fly around the house and they would both fly back inside together and lock the cage back like nothing ever happened. They were quite smart, it was awesome seeing them do it for the first time. I miss those birds...

 

[Matrixhasu77]

Dude.. that is definitely the coolest thing I've seen in a while! Looks like the owner needs to invest in some better locks... lol

 

[Der Alta]

This is a learned ability. A few quick notes about the clip. The locks are not secured, they are both open and unlocked. Making it considerably easier for the Cockatoo. The locksmith is a sulphur crested cockatoo. Very smart birds. I know this first hand, as I met one that was 52 years old, and could manipulate the latch on its cage almost fast as I could.

TO bring this back to a selfish point, I live with two Umbrella Cockatoos. Nellie (12) and Baby (mid 40's). Baby is a wild caught bird smuggled into the US before the ban. Nellie is a hand raised Cockatoo, born in the US, and never having known her parents, or another Cockatoo.

Nellie figured out how to open her cage, and can do a similar escape. She taught Baby how to do it as well. He simply watched her manipulate the latch, and in a matter of a day figured his out. Nellie has no reason to escape her cage, as she's got plenty in it to keep her occupied. Baby has plenty as well, with the exception of female companionship. We will frequently find him in her cage.

I've met many others people that have had to go to extremes to keep their birds in the cage. At the rescue that I worked at, We had a 30 year old cockatoo that kept escaping. He figured out how to push the grate and the tray out of the bottom of the cage, and climb out from under. He'd manipulate the latch on the door. We changed the latch, he figured that one out. We put a combo lock on that. That one took weeks, until we found him listening to the lock as he slowly spun the dial. Changed it to a padlock. He got his beak caught in the keyhole attempting to pick it. We finally put a heavy duty three digit combo lock in it so eh could spin the combo, but never open it.

My big greenwing macaw, Neo, likes to take things apart. We had a cage with a key lock installed in a bar in the cage door. Came home from work one day to find him sitting atop his cage. The lock in pieces on the bottom of the cage. He had spent all day, looseing any little piece he could and finally broke the latch, and pulled the core right through into the cage.

Yes, Parrots are amazingly smart creatures. Likened to a 3 year old child, locked in a cage. Given enough time, they figure things out.

 

[skip0110]

I knew you'd have some cool stores to share on this topic. 👍

Particularly this bit:

I've met many others people that have had to go to extremes to keep their birds in the cage. At the rescue that I worked at, We had a 30 year old cockatoo that kept escaping. He figured out how to push the grate and the tray out of the bottom of the cage, and climb out from under. He'd manipulate the latch on the door. We changed the latch, he figured that one out. We put a combo lock on that. That one took weeks, until we found him listening to the lock as he slowly spun the dial. Changed it to a padlock. He got his beak caught in the keyhole attempting to pick it. We finally put a heavy duty three digit combo lock in it so eh could spin the combo, but never open it.

It shows a lot of adaptability and creativity to convert a behavior that evolved for cracking nuts into one that opens a lock, even if it is a learned behavior.