Australians are locked in an ‘innovation arms race’ with bin-raiding cockatoos, scientists say

The birds initially surprised researchers by devising an ingenious technique to prise open household bin lids in Sydney and other areas of Australia

Now, a new study suggests they’ve gone a step further by thwarting the escalating defences of fed-up humans – from rubber snakes, to bricks and rocks

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A sulphur-crested cockatoo prises open the lid of a household waste bin in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Barbara Klump/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour via AFP

Published: 11:03am, 13 Sep 2022Updated: 11:19am, 13 Sep 2022

Australia’s crafty, sulphur-crested cockatoos appear to have entered an “innovation arms race” with humans, scientists say, as the two species spar over the rubbish in roadside bins.

The white birds, which can grow nearly as long as a human arm, initially surprised researchers by devising an ingenious technique to prise open household bin lids in Sydney and other areas.

Now, a new study says they have gone a step further by thwarting the escalating defences of fed-up humans.

People walk through a shopping area of Sydney, Australia. The picturesque town of Stanwell Park near Sydney is on the front line of the battle against the bin-raiding cockatoos. Photo: Bloomberg

The birds’ and humans’ behaviour may reveal a hitherto unexplored “interspecies innovation arms race”, said a study published on Monday in Current Biology.

Nestled between a forest and a surf-swept beach and bordered by cliffs, the picturesque town of Stanwell Park near Sydney is on the front line of the battle of the bins.

“If we don’t close the bin right after throwing out the rubbish they’ll be in there,” said Ana Culic, 21, manager of the town’s Loaf Cafe. “Cockatoos everywhere. Like, just rubbish all over the front area.”

Her own family had tried scaring cockatoos away with owl statues to no avail. Then they tried placing bricks on the bin lids, but the cockatoos learned to remove them. Finally, they drilled a lock into the bin.