Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
School of Biological Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Sep 13;290(2006):20231271. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1271.
The rarity of tool manufacture in wild parrots is surprising because they share key life-history traits with advanced tool-using species, including large brains, complex sociality and prolonged parental care. When it does occur, tool manufacture in parrots tends to be innovative, spontaneous and individually variable, but most cases have been in captivity. In the wild, only palm cockatoos () have been observed using tools regularly. However, they are unusual because they use tools to enhance their displays rather than for foraging or self-maintenance. Males in northern Australia make two types of tool from sticks and seed pods, which they tap rhythmically against a tree during display. We analysed 256 sound tools retrieved from 70 display trees. Drumsticks (89% of tools) were used more often than seed pod tools; most males manufactured only drumsticks, but some made both types. Individual males differed significantly in the design of their drumsticks including the length, width and mass but we found no evidence that neighbours copied each other. We discuss the highly individualized preferences for sound tool design in context of the behavioural predispositions behind the rarity of tool manufacture in wild parrots.
野生鹦鹉很少会制造工具，这令人惊讶，因为它们与具有高级工具使用能力的物种具有关键的生活史特征，包括大脑较大、社会性复杂和延长的亲代抚育。当鹦鹉确实制造工具时，其制造工具的行为往往具有创新性、自发性和个体差异性，但大多数情况发生在圈养环境中。在野外，只有棕榈凤头鹦鹉（）被观察到经常使用工具。然而，它们是不寻常的，因为它们使用工具是为了增强展示，而不是为了觅食或自我维护。澳大利亚北部的雄性会用树枝和豆荚制作两种工具，并在展示期间有节奏地敲击树干。我们分析了从 70 棵展示树中取回的 256 个声音工具。鼓槌（89%的工具）比豆荚工具使用得更频繁；大多数雄性只制造鼓槌，但有些雄性会制造两种类型的工具。个体雄性在鼓槌的设计上存在显著差异，包括长度、宽度和质量，但我们没有发现证据表明邻居之间会相互模仿。我们将声音工具设计的高度个性化偏好置于野生鹦鹉很少制造工具的行为倾向的背景下进行讨论。
