Talking Parrots

Intelligent magpie drops bottle cap in a machine and gets a treat

Inventor Hans Forsberg created a machine that helped train local magpies. The birds collect bottle caps, drop them into a slot in her invention, and are automatically rewarded with a treat. #Magpie #Birds #BirdFeeder #Animals #Invention

A glossy black and white magpie with a green object in its beak, perched on grass amidst fallen leaves in an outdoor backyard setting.

In Hans Forsberg’s backyard, there sits a small wooden table. On this table is a sort of machine. It’s got a hole, what appears to be a small motor, and tubing.

A beautiful black and white magpie landed on the setup with a green bottle cap in its beak. It knew exactly what it needed to do. It dropped the bottle cap into a small, red hole and waited patiently.

The bottle cap made a clanking sound as it landed and then, from higher up, gears started audibly turning. The Magpie perked up at the sound and started looking around quickly.

Eventually, the whirring stopped, and a treat dispensed down a long tube and into a sitting area for the bird to retrieve it from. It landed in the exact spot the Magpie had been gleaming at.

He quickly pecked it up, ate it, and jumped off the small table and into the yard. Viewers got one last glimpse of him hopping across the green grass before the video ended.

Although this seemed like a fairly simple task, it took months to train birds to complete the transaction correctly to earn a treat. And, since there aren’t a lot of bottlecaps naturally hanging out in the yard, Hans sometimes has to spread them in the garden near the machine.

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