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Kea invents his own prosthetic

MommyBird

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In the video in the link be aware that the pebble he uses is about the size of a grain of rice, then you can see what he's doing easier.

Bruce is a kea, a species of parrot found only in New Zealand. He is about 9 years old, and when wildlife researchers found him as a baby, he was missing his upper beak, probably because it had been caught in a trap made for rats and other invasive mammals the country was trying to eliminate. This is a severe disability, as kea use their dramatically long and curved upper beaks for preening their feathers to get rid of parasites and to remove dirt and grime.
But Bruce found a solution: He has taught himself to pick up pebbles of just the right size, hold them between his tongue and his lower beak, and comb through his plumage with the tip of the stone. Other animals use tools, but Bruce’s invention of his own prosthetic is unique


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/science/kea-beak-tools.html?smid=url-share
 

Shezbug

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I can’t open the link but I did see an article about Bruce yesterday or the day before. It’s really amazing seeing the things they learn to be able to cope and survive.
 

MommyBird

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I can’t open the link but I did see an article about Bruce yesterday or the day before. It’s really amazing seeing the things they learn to be able to cope and survive.
This is a link to the published paper and scrolling down almost to the bottom under "supplementary info" is a set of videos. The first bird shown preening is a normal kea, then the video continues to Bruce.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97086-w
 

FeatheredM

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That parrot is smarter than me!!
 

SumitaSinh

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I have read kea parrots are amazingly intelligent.
 

SumitaSinh

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Have you all seen the article about cockatoo creating their own cutlery? These parrots are only animals other than primates who can invent such tools... So, I won't be surprised if in near future, Milton the Too becomes the emperor of the world :lol: .
 
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