Parrots prove sharing is caring

You might know them for their quick wit and shrill catch-phrases, but new research shows that parrots may have a softer side.

In a trial published in Current Biology, African grey parrots – which were first trained to understand that small metal tokens could be swapped for a food treat at a specific ‘exchange window’ – had their compassion put to the test.

In the experiment, one bird was given a pile of tokens but no window to exchange them through. Next to the first bird, another had no tokens, but access to the window.

After some consideration, the bird with the tokens began passing them through the enclosure to its neighbour, allowing it to access a treat – despite the fact the treat wasn’t shared.

Speaking of the experiment, Peggy Mason, from the University of Chicago, admitted she was stunned. “I think they had the sense that this was a useful token, and that it would turn into food for the other bird,” Peggy explains. “It’s surprisingly giving, just because the only thing the bird doing it gets is that warm glow of helping.”

That’s a glow we’ll all be familiar with as it turns out generosity is interspecific, and that Polly is more than happy to share the cracker!

Writing | Kathryn Wheeler