Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery, observing non-primate animals using flavorings to enhance their food consumption. Goffin’s cockatoos were seen dunking potatoes and noodles into blueberry-flavored soy yogurt, indicating a preference for enhanced flavor experiences.
The study, recently published in Current Biology, confirmed that the cockatoos were not dunking their food for purposes like soaking or cleaning, but purely for flavor enjoyment. This behavior marks a unique finding in the animal kingdom.
Goffin’s cockatoos, also known as Tanimbar corellas, are a species of parrot native to Indonesia’s Tanimbar Islands. Weighing around 250-300g and measuring 31cm in length, these white cockatoos are the smallest in their family.
Initially mistaken for other cockatoo species, Goffin’s cockatoos were officially recognized as a distinct species in 2004. However, their population is dwindling, classified as near threatened on the IUCN Red List, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 individuals.
The study that uncovered the cockatoos’ yogurt-dunking behavior was sparked by an accidental observation in 2022 when two cockatoos, Irene and Renki, were witnessed dunking potatoes in blueberry soy yogurt during breakfast at the Goffin lab in Austria.
Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna conducted a series of breakfast sessions involving 18 cockatoos, offering them potatoes and noodles along with different dunking options, including fresh water, plain soy yogurt, and blueberry-flavored soy yogurt.
Half of the birds engaged in dunking, with a clear preference for noodles over potatoes. Interestingly, the cockatoos dunked their food in blueberry yogurt more frequently than in plain yogurt, indicating a specific flavor preference.
The short duration for which the food was left in the yogurt, averaging only 3.2 seconds, suggested that the behavior was not related to soaking or cleaning. This contrasts with water-soaking behavior, where food is typically dunked for an average of 22.9 seconds.
Notably, the color of the yogurt did not significantly impact the cockatoos’ behavior, emphasizing that flavor, rather than visual cues, was the primary driver for dunking. This unique food-flavoring behavior in animals has previously been observed only in Japanese macaques.
Despite these intriguing findings, researchers remain puzzled about the underlying reasons for the cockatoos’ behavior. This discovery contributes to our understanding of rare food preparation behaviors in animals, shedding light on the complexities of animal cognition and behavior.
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