THE CROWS’ FEAT

Birds put to work clearing up rubbish at theme park

It shows that nature can teach us to take care of the habitat

THEME PARK BOSS ON THE ASTONISHING SCHEME

SIX brainy birds have been trained to pick up litter at a theme park.

The rooks will be put to work from next week to help keep things tidy by collecting ciggy butts and sweet wrappers.

When one of the flying squad deposits some rubbish in a special box it gives them a pinch of food as a reward.

Nicolas de Villiers, president of the historical theme park, said: “The goal is not just to clear up, because the visitors are generally careful to keep things clean, [it also shows] nature can teach us to take care of the environment.”

He said rooks – part of the crow family – are “particularly intelligent”. Mr de Villiers added the birds “like to communicate with humans and establish a relationship through play”.

The popular attraction, Puy du Fou, in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of western France, is reckoned to be the country’s second most popular theme park after Disneyland Paris.

Scientists say crows are surprisingly intelligent and are capable of using tools, solving complex problems and remembering human faces.

Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham described a crow’s brain power as “remarkable” during his TV series Inside the Animal Mind.

After the bird completed a tricky eight-part test, Chris said he had “never seen anything like it”. He added: “I have observed a lot of bird behaviour and I can hardly believe it.”

Evidence like this has led to experiments to see if crows can be trained to do work, such as picking up litter, and now it seems they can. Some crows have been seen in the wild using sticks in their beaks like spades to extract insects from logs.

Crows in the US have devised a way of getting into hard-shelled nuts by dropping them on busy crossroads where they are cracked by passing cars. The birds then grab the cracked nuts when motors are stopped at red lights.

These aren’t the only feathered creatures who have amazed experts.

Australian magpies can understand what other types of birds are saying. Research this year found the animals have learned the meanings of different calls by the noisy miner and eavesdrop on them to find out which predators are near.

Macaws use ropes to fetch items that would normally be difficult to reach, and some herons use bait to catch fish.