Greater vasa parrot. Credit: Frank Wouters

Thanks to Ed Yong, writing in National Geographic, for this brief look at how Tool-Using Parrots Use Pebbles to Grind Seashells:

In the spring of 2013, Megan Lambert noticed the greater vasa parrots of Lincolnshire Wildlife Park doing something odd. They looked like they were licking the cockle shells that lined the floor of their outdoor enclosure. But when Lambert looked closer, she noticed that they were holding a pebble or date pit in their beaks, and rubbing these against the shells.

They were using tools.

Several birds can use tools. Woodpecker finches prise grubs from wood with twigs, New Caledonian crows do the same, Egyptian vultures drop rocks onto eggs to crack them open, and rooks can raise the water level of a pitcher by dropping stones into it, Aesop-style. But among the 300 species of parrot, tool use is relatively rare. Black palm cockatoos use rocks to drum on tree trunks, while hyacinth macaws use sticks to prise open nuts. The kea, a delightfully mischievous New Zealand parrot, can use and make tools in the lab, but no one knows if they do so naturally.

Thanks to Lambert’s observations, the greater vasa parrot joins this exclusive club. Native to Madagascar, the greater vasa is a bit of a goth parrot, eschewing the vibrant hues of its relatives in favour of black and dark grey plumage. They’re sociable and inquisitive, and will often explore and manipulate objects in captivity; while watching them, Lambert saw one thread a twig through the open links of a chain. That seemed like play. By contrast, the thing with the seashells was probably more purposeful…

Read the whole post here.