Cockatoos show they can master the nuts and bolts

Cockatoos can crack tough puzzles and even unpick locks to reach a reward, scientists have found.

Researchers presented 10 birds with a box containing a cashew nut, which they could reach by removing five different interlocking devices.

One of the not-so-bird-brained cockatoos solved the complex mechanical puzzle within two hours to get at the goodies.

The research, carried out by scientists from the University of Oxford, the University of Vienna and the Max Planck Institute in Germany, also found that other birds mastered the task after observing their peers. To reach the nut, the Goffin’s cockatoos had to remove a pin, followed by a screw and then a bolt, and then turn a wheel and move a latch sideways.

In most cases the results showed once a bird had mastered how to remove a lock it could do it again without error.