The Clever Cockie Research Project
@clevercockierp.bsky.social
Account for the research project jointly run at ANU and UZH and led by Lucy Aplin, studying spread of innovation, culture and cognition in urban cockatoos
https://www.clevercockies.com/
https://www.clevercockies.com/
Peak cockatoo breeding season! Look out for those pairs lucky enough to secure rare real estate; they should be feeding chicks now.
October 18, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Peak cockatoo breeding season! Look out for those pairs lucky enough to secure rare real estate; they should be feeding chicks now.
Big day yesterday, CleverCockie lab member Lisa Fontana @lisafontana.bsky.social finished the last day of data collection for her PhD, completing an experiment on social learning in cockatoos. Congratulations Lisa! 🎉
October 1, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Big day yesterday, CleverCockie lab member Lisa Fontana @lisafontana.bsky.social finished the last day of data collection for her PhD, completing an experiment on social learning in cockatoos. Congratulations Lisa! 🎉
Caught mid fluff! Little corellas are a smaller species of cockatoo (Cacatua sanguinea) that often join sulphur-crested cockatoo flocks, especially in urban areas.
September 18, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Caught mid fluff! Little corellas are a smaller species of cockatoo (Cacatua sanguinea) that often join sulphur-crested cockatoo flocks, especially in urban areas.
That's the spot...! A trio of allopreening cockies engaging in some social bonding at our field-site, captured by @elliearose.bsky.social.
If you'd like to learn more about when and why cockies allopreen, check out a recent paper by @julia-penndorf.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
If you'd like to learn more about when and why cockies allopreen, check out a recent paper by @julia-penndorf.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 2, 2025 at 6:38 AM
That's the spot...! A trio of allopreening cockies engaging in some social bonding at our field-site, captured by @elliearose.bsky.social.
If you'd like to learn more about when and why cockies allopreen, check out a recent paper by @julia-penndorf.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
If you'd like to learn more about when and why cockies allopreen, check out a recent paper by @julia-penndorf.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Saturday morning cockatoo
August 29, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Saturday morning cockatoo
Lab member Lara Blumenstiel is currently wrapping up the last stage of training before moving on to cognitive testing. Sydney's clever cockies are playing her custom puzzle-box like pros!
August 15, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Lab member Lara Blumenstiel is currently wrapping up the last stage of training before moving on to cognitive testing. Sydney's clever cockies are playing her custom puzzle-box like pros!
An extremely clever cockie, or one regretting their life choices?
Spotted at our Canberra field-site by @lisafontana.bsky.social, it's first time we've seen a sulphur-crested cockatoo successfully fledge 3 chicks! The usual is 2 eggs laid, resulting in 0-1 chicks.
Spotted at our Canberra field-site by @lisafontana.bsky.social, it's first time we've seen a sulphur-crested cockatoo successfully fledge 3 chicks! The usual is 2 eggs laid, resulting in 0-1 chicks.
August 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
An extremely clever cockie, or one regretting their life choices?
Spotted at our Canberra field-site by @lisafontana.bsky.social, it's first time we've seen a sulphur-crested cockatoo successfully fledge 3 chicks! The usual is 2 eggs laid, resulting in 0-1 chicks.
Spotted at our Canberra field-site by @lisafontana.bsky.social, it's first time we've seen a sulphur-crested cockatoo successfully fledge 3 chicks! The usual is 2 eggs laid, resulting in 0-1 chicks.
Why hello there! Sunrise behind some early birds at one of our Sydney field-sites.
July 29, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Why hello there! Sunrise behind some early birds at one of our Sydney field-sites.
No, it's not a sulphur-crested cockatoo, but it is a clever cockie!
Masters student Miro van den Berg is using light-weight BLE-tags to study the urban lives of the gorgeous gang-gang cockatoo. You can read more here: sites.google.com/site/lucymap...
Masters student Miro van den Berg is using light-weight BLE-tags to study the urban lives of the gorgeous gang-gang cockatoo. You can read more here: sites.google.com/site/lucymap...
July 26, 2025 at 8:17 AM
No, it's not a sulphur-crested cockatoo, but it is a clever cockie!
Masters student Miro van den Berg is using light-weight BLE-tags to study the urban lives of the gorgeous gang-gang cockatoo. You can read more here: sites.google.com/site/lucymap...
Masters student Miro van den Berg is using light-weight BLE-tags to study the urban lives of the gorgeous gang-gang cockatoo. You can read more here: sites.google.com/site/lucymap...
The crest tends to get all the attention, but cockies also have incredibly expressive chin feathers, aka the 'fluffenchops' - combined with the head tilt, this expression says "curious but relaxed and content".
July 22, 2025 at 4:22 AM
The crest tends to get all the attention, but cockies also have incredibly expressive chin feathers, aka the 'fluffenchops' - combined with the head tilt, this expression says "curious but relaxed and content".
You want us to do what now? The first steps of Lara training Sydney's wild cockatoos on how to play a touchscreen task...
We've found that it take about 2-3 weeks for cockies to go from these first steps to using the full apparatus, which we can then use to test individuals' cognitive abilities.
We've found that it take about 2-3 weeks for cockies to go from these first steps to using the full apparatus, which we can then use to test individuals' cognitive abilities.
July 15, 2025 at 2:34 AM
You want us to do what now? The first steps of Lara training Sydney's wild cockatoos on how to play a touchscreen task...
We've found that it take about 2-3 weeks for cockies to go from these first steps to using the full apparatus, which we can then use to test individuals' cognitive abilities.
We've found that it take about 2-3 weeks for cockies to go from these first steps to using the full apparatus, which we can then use to test individuals' cognitive abilities.
Our central Sydney 2025 field-season has begun! Lee (undergrad intern) and Shefali (PhD student) are marking cockies with temporary paint dots as a first step to measure cognitive performance on standardised tests.
July 10, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Our central Sydney 2025 field-season has begun! Lee (undergrad intern) and Shefali (PhD student) are marking cockies with temporary paint dots as a first step to measure cognitive performance on standardised tests.
Hi Bluesky! 👋 We're the account for the Clever Cockie Project, researching culture and cognition in urban sulphur-crested cockatoos. We'll post updates from the field, along with our recent results and publications. You can find more, including our current team, here: www.clevercockies.com/the-team
July 8, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Hi Bluesky! 👋 We're the account for the Clever Cockie Project, researching culture and cognition in urban sulphur-crested cockatoos. We'll post updates from the field, along with our recent results and publications. You can find more, including our current team, here: www.clevercockies.com/the-team