Birds might not be so "bird-brained" after all, as British scientists have discovered new evidence of tool use by parrots for cracking seashells. .
In the study published by the journal Biology Letters, animal psychologists from the University of St. Andrews and the University of York in the united Kingdom have documented greater vasa parrots (Coracopsis vasa) using tools to grind and eat seashells.
The team studied a group of ten parrots for a period of eight months. They observed that five of the birds would use small pebbles or date pits to break the mussel shells into smaller pieces, which they then eat. The birds would either put the objects inside the shells or chip away pieces, Value Walk reported.
Researchers noted that the activity was observed the most during the months of March to April, which are a few weeks before the start of the bird's mating season. As the shells are known as a source of calcium, the team theorized that the activity is related to the need for supplementary calcium during the egg-laying period.
During the study, scientists also noted that it is the males who do the activity more. Upon further observation, they discovered that the males feed the females regurgitated food during mating, likely passing the calcium to them.
"These observations provide new insights into the tool-using capabilities of parrots and give rise to further questions as to why this species uses tools," York Department of Psychology doctoral student Megan Lambert, who was the lead author of the study, said. She added that tool use could either be innate to the parrots' behavior or could be an indication of social learning, Phys.org reported.
Lambert said that they have yet to determine if the parrots display the same tool-using skills in the wild. "But ultimately these observations highlight the greater vasa parrot as a species of interest for further studies of physical cognition,' Lambert remarked.