Polly is pretty clever at budgeting for food
PARROTS are capable of being trained to make shrewd financial decisions, according to a study.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany carried out tests using 33 parrots and were surprised with their “profit-maximising” ability.
The birds, selected from four different species, which included macaws and African greys, were taught how to recognise the value of tokens that could be exchanged for food rewards.
They then had to make difficult decisions about whether to accept an immediate reward, or instead “invest” in tokens that guaranteed a more worthwhile return later.
High, low and medium value rewards were on offer – namely a piece of walnut, a nugget of dry corn, or a sunflower seed.
In a series of trials the parrots consistently rejected disappointing immediate rewards and chose the token – but only if its value corresponded to higher quality food.
The results, published in the journal
Scientific Reports, showed that the birds were capable of making “deliberate and profit-maximising decisions”, the scientists said.
Lead researcher Dr Auguste von Bayern said: “Given that wild parrots are so difficult to track, to date we know little about the ecological challenges most parrots encounter in their habitats in the wild, such as deciding where to go and how long to stay in a given feeding site.
“However, in our experimental setting we have found that they are capable of making surprisingly subtle decisions to maximise their pay-off while minimising their effort.
“This is a fascinating indication that such decisions may matter greatly in their natural environment.”
The hand-reared parrots, housed at the Max Planck Comparative Cognition Research Station in Tenerife, performed as well as chimpanzees taking part in similar tests, the scientists said.