Study finds parrots weigh up probabilities to make decisions

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Among previous studies, African grey parrots have been found to selflessly help their peers complete tasks and seem able to identify colours and count. Cockatoos meanwhile can keep track of an object’s location – even when it is hidden – and have been found to invent dance moves.

Now researchers have found kea, an endangered species from New Zealand and the world’s only alpine parrot, appear to use probabilities when taking a gamble.

What’s more, it seems the birds harness multiple sources of information to decide which choice is a better bet.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, reveals how the team trained six male kea to associate black wooden tokens with tasty treats and orange tokens with no reward.

Each bird was then placed in front of a researcher and two transparent jars filled with black and orange tokens.

In the first experiment, the two jars contained the same overall number of tokens, but one was largely crammed with black tokens while the other was dominated by orange.

Each bird was tested 20 times on which jar they preferred the researcher to have taken a token from. Overall three birds showed a clear preference – all favouring the jar with more black tokens. 

Among further tests, both jars were filled with the same number of black tokens but a different number of orange tokens. This time four birds showed a clear preference – all favouring the jar with the greater ratio of black to orange tokens.

That, said Bastos, shows the birds are not simply responding to the actual number of black or orange tokens but to the actual probability of getting a black token.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/03/study-finds-parrots-weigh-up-probabilities-to-make-decisions

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

The avian flu will be upon us soon...they are learning!

 

[Taylucifer 5,249]

yeah, keas are smart.

This also means that they choose to pull apart cars

 

[Didymus 34,380]

Animal studies are progressing so fast, I love it. So much complexity no one would've predicted just a decade ago.

[sarahb 17,188]

Smart and beautiful 



And total dicks to cars 

[Curunir 7,510]

1 hour ago, Taylucifer said:

yeah, keas are smart.

This also means that they choose to pull apart cars

 

 

44 minutes ago, sarahb said:

Smart and beautiful 



And total dicks to cars 

I just spent 45 minutes watching videos of these birds being absolute diсks towards cars and it is thoroughly entertaining 

[Taylucifer 5,249]

17 hours ago, Curunir said:

I just spent 45 minutes watching videos of these birds being absolute diсks towards cars and it is thoroughly entertaining 

time well spent