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The Clever Cockie Research Project

@clevercockierp.bsky.social
276 followers 327 following 24 posts

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 www.clevercockies.com

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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
CleverCockie lab member Lara Blumenstiel recently presented her work on cognitive testing in wild cockatoos to the public at Switzerland's largest science festival, Scientifica. The kids loved 'playing cockie' for sticker rewards!
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
How time flies! Clever cockie lab member, Sofia Bolcato, is presenting a wrap-up overview of her PhD this Wednesday. Come along to hear all about Parrots and People!
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
So chuffed to have had our work represented by 6(!) talks on Clever Cockies at @isbe2026.bsky.social ISBE 2026 Turin last week! Topics ranged from social networks (@julia-penndorf.bsky.social), bin-opening behaviour (@lucymaplin.bsky.social) & cognitive testing ( @shefalidorepalli.bsky.social)...
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Lucy Aplin @lucymaplin.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
An exhausting but inspiring 5 days at #ISBE2026 @isbe2026.bsky.social. As always, a highlight was getting to bring the Uni Zurich and Australian National University halves of our lab group together, as well as catching up with past lab members! Even better if 1m long pizza is involved...
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
New paper from @julia-penndorf.bsky.social and the CleverCockie research project! Foraging networks formed at the communal roost carry-over to breeding decisions: males occupy hollows closer to those of their social associates. More evidence of how influential social networks are in cockie life...
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
New paper from @julia-penndorf.bsky.social and the clever cockie research team! A wild experiment shows that cockies adopt novel foods via social learning, with info. transmitted across social networks & over space This works gives insight into how social learning enables niche expansion in cities
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Cultural Evolution Society @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
A new episode of Transmissions is out! We feature Dr. Aiyana Willard, Reader in Psychology at Brunel University London. We talk about the adaptiveness of religion, including alternative beliefs such as witchcraft, tarot reading and other local healing practices. www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2m5...
youtube.com
Transmissions Episode 5 with Dr. Aiyana Willard
YouTube video by Cultural Evolution Society
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Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 30/03/2026
Culture was assumed to be unique to humans, but recent scientific discoveries have revealed that it's in fact widespread in the animal kingdom. This #PhilTransB issue is the first to present a comprehensive picture of the science & implications of this: royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...
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Courtney Hilton @courtneybhilton.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
who wore it better? #australia
A vanilla sliceA sulfur-crested cockatoo
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Julia Penndorf @julia-penndorf.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
There is order in pandemonium 😜 1- We show that wild SC-cockies have sex & age structured hierarchies, stable for at least 3 years 🏆 2- We provide guidance on how to choose the right threshold for your data when using rElo.
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
It turns out there is order in the apparent cockie chaos! In a new paper from the Clever Cockie Research Group; @julia-penndorf.bsky.social and co-authors show how roost of wild SC-cockies exhibit linear dominance hierarchies that are stable over 3+ years. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Long-term stability of dominance hierarchies in a wild parrot with fission–fusion dynamics
Dominance hierarchies are a common feature of stable groups, allowing animals to limit the costs of fighting over access to resources. However, althou…
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Culture Conference @cultconf.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
What a pre-conference workshop on Bayesian statistical methods—a powerful toolkit for our community! 📊 Many thanks to Daniel Redhead and Ramona Roller for guiding us through STRAND and to Michael Chimento for the introduction to STbayes. And thank you to all participants for their energy! 🙌
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
New paper out from the Clever Cockie Research Project - how does problem-solving different across social and environmental gradients within the urban matrix?
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Keith McMahon @mcmahok.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
We are hiring at the Wytham Woods for the upcoming field season. 4 roles available. Please share with anyone who might be interested. #UKbirds #birdringing
We are seeking to appoint four full-time field assistants to work on the Wytham Tit Project for 4-8 weeks in spring 2026.
Two 8-week field assistants will join the nest monitoring team; duties for these posts will include (i) collecting standardised data from nest-box breeding populations of blue and great tits, (ii) catching and ringing parent birds, (iii) ringing nestlings, and (iv) inputting data collected in the field. These positions with run from approximately Tuesday 7th April to Monday 1st June. Successful candidates for these positions must have (or be qualified to obtain) a BTO permit to ring adult great tits and blue tits.
A further two field assistants will be hired to support a project collecting behavioural (foraging) data for great tits breeding in the Wytham population. These roles will involve a significant amount of nightwork. Duties will include (i) setting up and calibrating electronic tracking equipment and nest box cameras in the field, (ii) mapping tracking equipment locations using GPS, (iii) helping with catching and ringing parent birds and fitting tracking devices, (iv) assisting with mistnetting to re-trap tagged parents, and (v) inputting data collected in the field. These positions with be approximately 7 and 4 weeks in duration, starting from 13th April and 4th May, respectively. Possession of a BTO ringing permit with misnet endorsement and driving license are highly desirable for these roles.
All fieldwork will take place in Wytham Woods, near Oxford. All Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate skill and enthusiasm for biological research as well as experience of fieldwork under arduous conditions, and both lone work and working as part of a team. Due to the short-term nature of these posts, successsful applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. Salary & Accommodation: Field assistants will be paid at grade 5.2 (£17.37/hour). Contact eleanor.cole@Biology.ox.ac.uk
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Andrew Digby @digs.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
More #kakapo matings - another from Whenua Hou, and Te Kākahu/Chalky Island is off the mark! That's particularly exciting, as it's our low-intensity management site. Whenua Hou: Tumeke 💚 Gulliver Te Kākahu: Rimu 💚 Jack #conservation #parrots A
A male kākāpō sitting in an underground roost, amongst tree roots. Credit: Andrew Digby
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ASSAB @animbehav.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Happy 2026 ASSABers! We hope you had a stunning holiday break and a very happy New Year. A reminder that our conference is a little over 5 months away!
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IMPRS-QBEE @imprs-qbee.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
How do pigeons balance the need to feed with the need to stay safe? IMPRS-QBEE student Mathilde Delacoux working with Fumihiro Kano, uses motion capture to study how information transfers through pigeon flocks. @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/w5p_Z...
youtube.com
Mathilde Delacoux | Collective vigilance in pigeons
YouTube video by Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the clever cockie team! Here’s to a year of exploration and discovery 🥂
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Our paper on cockatoos innovating+social learning the use of bubblers as an urban water source was one of the 10 most popular papers for 2025 in the Royal Society's journals. Couldn't be more pleased! royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12...
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Lucy Aplin @lucymaplin.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
We couldn't have asked for a better end-of-year lab BBQ / stroll at a local nature reserve. Spotted platypus, emu, bandicoots, roos, wallabies, YTBC (black cockies), wedge-tailed eagles, and of course hundreds of sulphur-crested cockies feasting on the wattles. Glorious!
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Peak cockatoo breeding season! Look out for those pairs lucky enough to secure rare real estate; they should be feeding chicks now.
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
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! 🎉
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Wai-Hong Tham @thamlab.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Our first Tham Lab photo with Megan Outram and Grace Jones @biologyanu.bsky.social 🐸 We want to understand how chytrid fungus infects frogs using structural biology, nanobodies & genetic engineering Excited to be branching out to fungal diseases #chytrid #nanobodies #fungus #effector
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Another clever cockie: apnews.com/article/hong...
apnews.com
One of the rarest birds in the world finds a city sanctuary in Hong Kong
Yellow-crested cockatoos have found a sanctuary in Hong Kong's urban parks, but they face housing troubles similar to their human neighbors.
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Caught mid fluff! Little corellas are a smaller species of cockatoo (Cacatua sanguinea) that often join sulphur-crested cockatoo flocks, especially in urban areas.
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
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...
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Saturday morning cockatoo
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Alan McElligott @amcell.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Hong Kong scientist puts hope in nest boxes to save endangered cockatoos phys.org/news/2025-08...
phys.org
HK scientist puts hope in nest boxes to save endangered cockatoos
Above the teeming shopping streets of Hong Kong's Causeway Bay district, a fight to save one of the world's most endangered species is unfolding high in the branches of a decades-old cotton tree.
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
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!
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Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 15/08/2025
#BiologyLetters in @theguardian.com | Prevalence and implications of sex reversal in free-living birds: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
theguardian.com
‘Mind-blown’: scientists discover sex reversal in kookaburras and lorikeets with cause unknown
Almost all of the ‘sex discordant’ birds were genetically female but had male reproductive organs, study finds
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michael chimento @mchimento.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
📣 Interested in cultural evolution and artificial life? Call for abstracts for our upcoming workshop at @alife2025.bsky.social. Accepted abstracts will be presented as flash talks, and are not archival. Deadline is the September 12, w/ rolling acceptance. Details: sites.google.com/view/planetx... 🧪
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BirdLife Australia @birdlifeoz.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
It’s #NationalScienceWeek! 🐦 Our HANZAB encyclopaedia is now online & free – covering every bird ever recorded in Aus, NZ & Antarctica. Updated with the latest taxonomy & threat statuses, it’s a game-changer for bird lovers & researchers alike 🔗 hanzab.birdlife.org.au #BirdLifeAustralia #Birds
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ASSAB @animbehav.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Students of ASSAB! You can now apply for the 2025 student research grants here: www.assab.org/grants-2025 We have two grants available for up to AUD$2500, we will also select two highly commended applications. Deadline: August 31st 2025
assab.org
Our 2024 Grants
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
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.
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Lucy Aplin @lucymaplin.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
An exciting & important new paper by @annamkearns.bsky.social & co-authors: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10..... Conservation genomics of the previously assumed to be extinct night parrot, showing recent connectivity between populations ~2000 km apart, but very low effective population sizes.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Museomics and Salvaged Feathers Piece Together the Evolutionary History and Conservation Genomics of the Elusive, Critically Endangered Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis)
The Night Parrot is a critically endangered nocturnal bird of Australia's arid zone. The species was “lost” for most of the 20th century until its rediscovery in 1990. Extant populations are now know....
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Australian Science Media Centre @aussmc.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
🐤 Like humans, animals can become stressed when trying to lead a group of peers in a particular direction, says @scienceanu.bsky.social
buff.ly
Leading the way comes at a cost for feathered friends
Leading the way comes at a cost for feathered friends Like humans, animals can become stressed when trying to lead a group of peers in a particular direction, a new study from The Austral
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Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
From bio-logging to conservation 🔽 New paper by an @animaltracking.bsky.social dream team @diegoellissoto.bsky.social @anflack.bsky.social @arispeshkin.bsky.social Timm Wild, Hannah Williams, @teagueo.bsky.social @cbehav.bsky.social @uni-konstanz.de www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
From biologging to conservation: Tracking individual performance in changing environments | PNAS
Under an accelerating biodiversity crisis, increased urbanization, habitat fragmentation, and climate change require new approaches to assess conse...
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Why hello there! Sunrise behind some early birds at one of our Sydney field-sites.
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
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...
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
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".
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
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.
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Lucy Aplin @lucymaplin.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Two paper just out from the #clevercockieproject! @julia-penndorf.bsky.social reveals how cockies play politics when deciding who to aggress: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.... & @barbaraklump.bsky.social describes a new 'drinking innovation': royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
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.
Undergraduate student Lee in fieldPhD student Shefali in field
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The Clever Cockie Research Project @clevercockierp.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
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
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