This is bird note.

Many bird species have found ways to adapt to city living,

but cockatoos and Sydney, Australia are setting a new standard for how resourceful

urban birds can be.

In several neighborhoods of Sydney, sulfur crested cockatoos have learned ways to open trash bins and grab some leftover food.

Researchers found that birds in a given suburb seem to learn their trash bin

opening technique from nearby birds, leading to subtle differences and how

cockatoos raid the garbage throughout the city.

As more and more cockatoo's got the news about trash bins, people began improving their security measures.

Residents started adding weights to the lids or trying to scare birds away with rubber snakes.

Much like the birds, people often used whatever deterrence method their neighbors were using.

Not every security method works.

It turns out cockatoo's can slide a brick off a bin lid and a toy snake will only fool a bird so many times.

This could result in an arms race between the Cockatoo's and Sydney residents as two highly

intelligent species tried out with each other every trash day.

For Bird Note, I'm Ariana Rimmel.

This episode is dedicated to Bob Goodale, whose lifelong love for birds and nature continues to inspire. You're going to.