{"id":47250,"date":"2026-05-20T15:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=47250"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T20:25:00","slug":"parrots-follow-flock-food-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/parrots-follow-flock-food-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"Parrots Follow Flock Food Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Social learning behaviors seen in the PLOS Biology<\/a> study, where wild cockatoos adopted new foods by watching and following others in their flock, highlights how information and behaviors can spread through bird communities. Photo by harisnurtanio\/Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers are busier than ever in trying to understand the way our feathered friends’ minds work. The reality that is often discovered is just how complicated birds are in their everyday lives. And how they behave toward many seemingly mundane tasks reveal the levels of intelligence and influence they possess. We are cautious in how we receive information and how we perform and\/or appear amongst our peers. We follow trends in clothing, mannerisms, sayings, and every form of involvement that might define who we are to others. Nevertheless, we tend to watch how such trends play out before jumping in, even though we know that it will be \u201cthe popular thing\u201d to do. A recent study reveals that birds living in cities often behave in much the same way.<\/p>\n

In a study published in PLOS Biology<\/a>, a group of five researchers from several universities, including the University of Konstanz (Germany), The Australian National University, the University of California Davis, and The University of Sydney (Australia), set out to examine social learning in groups of wild parrots. Specifically, the researchers were interested in understanding how wild parrots develop interest in trying foods they had never eaten before.<\/p>\n

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This study involved 705 marked Sulphur-crested cockatoos from five bird roosting communities, all within close inner city locations. Using four previously trained cockatoos (in newly accepted food choices), the researchers were able to witness that 349 cockatoos across the five roosts learned to eat new foods within 10 days of exposure to the new food choice presented by the four cockatoos. Many of the birds accepted influence in minutes.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Birds Watching Birds<\/h3>\n

What this study largely showed is that these birds watched other birds before accepting the new foods. In this study, coloration was used on almonds in the shell (blue\/red), presenting varied options for the birds. After a short time, the cockatoos observing the selections by the four previously trained birds accepted those almond choices without much hesitation. In a roost further away, the birds didn\u2019t accept the colored almonds until a bird from another roost arrived and immediately accepted the almonds. Within minutes, the other birds began to share in that same selection.<\/p>\n

After the 20-day experiment, the previously mentioned 349 cockatoos from all five marked roosts were actively eating and enjoying the colored almonds. They learned to do so by watching and evaluating others. Interestingly, just like humans, it was the young birds that adapted to new behaviors more quickly than their older flock members. This set the tone for the younger birds, while the older birds chose to watch what their older pals would do before engaging in the same behavior. This pointed out that the younger group of birds indirectly influenced the older group of birds.<\/p>\n

The reality of this study shows that it is ongoing societal behavioral changes of a group that can lead to a wider acceptance of like behavior by others. The closer the roost community was to another, the faster the subsequent roost communities adapted to change. Just like us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Study finds that wild cockatoos learn new food behaviors through social observation, much like humans follow social trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8046,"featured_media":44005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday","bird-type-cockatoo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nParrots Follow Flock Food Trends – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Study finds that wild cockatoos learn new food behaviors through social observation, much like humans follow social trends.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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