Parrots with a palate? A new study has revealed that Goffin’s cockatoos don’t just eat their food—they flavor it! Researchers observed the birds dipping pasta and veggies into blueberry soy yogurt, showing a clear preference for enhanced taste. Unlike typical water-dunking to soften food, this behavior suggests parrots may be more creative eaters than we thought. Dive into this fun discovery and watch these clever birds in action as they elevate mealtime with a fruity twist!
I previously wrote about a study on how parrots dip their food in water to help soften the item, perhaps even to wash off unwanted flavorings, or to transport liquid. Observed by researchers, the practice gave a new insight into how innovative parrots can treat their food. As it turns out, not only can they dunk in water, but they also seem quite happy to dip into various flavorings to enhance the food further.
A new study led by Jeroen Stephan Zewald and Alice Marie Isabel Auersperg at the Messerli Research Institute (University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna) has revealed that Goffin’s cockatoos use a dipping behavior to enhance the flavor of their food. For this study, soy yogurt was used to observe the cockatoos and their growing inclinations to improve food much like a human would (dressing on salads, ketchup and mustard on items like fries and hot dogs, etc.). As part of the previously mentioned water dunking research, the researchers began exploration into dipping when Ph.D. student, Zewald’s mentor, who has cockatoos in her household, noted that the birds began to dip their food into the blueberry yogurt that was given as a treat.
Intrigued by this innovation, Zewald assembled a group of 18 cockatoos from the university’s aviary. At the aviary, the two researchers used 14 test trials where the birds were given pasta and vegetables like carrots and potatoes. Served along with them were treats of neutral and blueberry-flavored yogurts. (The study used soy yogurt, which is free of milk and lactose. Although parrots are not completely lactose intolerant — some can tolerate small amounts of certain dairy products, and not all dairy products contain lactose — it seems the researchers chose soy-based yogurt to avoid any potential issues related to lactose.)
Blueberry Soy Yogurt Wins The Taste Test
The results were surprising and showed a clear preference among the cockatoos. As the birds were given water as well, it was interesting to see that the cockatoos chose not to dip their vegetables in the water. Rather, nine out of the 18 cockatoos – half of the birds in the study – used the soy yogurt to create a special treat. More notably, they were far more interested in the blueberry soy yogurt than the plain soy yogurt. Texture was ruled out as an enticement for the practice because, if it was texture that the birds were going for, they would have used the neutral flavoring of the plain yogurt as well, and they did not. Instead, the birds primarily went for the blueberry flavoring preferentially.
When offered noodles, the cockatoos selected the blueberry soy yogurt and thoroughly drenched the pasta with the yogurt. This easily indicated the love for the flavoring as a preferred enhancement. As for noodles, the birds chose to dip them far more than the vegetable options they were presented with. The birds appeared to love the blueberry-flavored yogurt soy alone and therefore gave little surprise that they preferred it in their food choices.
Interestingly, it was noted that the birds who dunked their food in water to moisten or cleaned their food dropped it in and waited for the food to soak in the water. With the yogurt option, the birds did not drop their noodles or vegetables into the yogurt, but instead, moved their food of choice around until it was soaked with the treat.
The study was published in the Current Biology journal. Learn more about the study on yogurt-dipping cockatoos, and watch the video!
