Cockatoos are pretty popular pets in the US and they're pretty smart too. Now, residents in southern Sydney are battling curious cockatoos...over garbage.
The birds, who have learned how to open garbage can lids, have been stealing the food waste within. Even when residents place bricks on top of lids, the clever cockatoos find a way.
"Once one gets a bin open all the cockatoos in the vicinity will come and try to get something nice to eat," Dr. Barbara Klump said. Dr. Klump says they have learned this behavior from observing other cockatoos, and so different groups have their own bin-opening "technique."
We see similar behavior here with seagulls who will find and devour just about any kind of trash. You'll see them often in Walmart parking lots. But we don't make pets out of them!
Photo: Getty Images