Cockatoos and humans are locked in what Australian researchers have described as “an interspecies innovation arms race”. Sydney residents are resorting to increasingly sophisticated measures to prevent sulphur-crested cockatoos from opening and raiding household wheelie bins, detailed in new research published in the journal Current Biology. The study, led by Dr Barbara Klump of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, documented 52 combinations of techniques used by humans to deter the birds from their bin-raiding antics. The researchers conducted a census of 3,283 bins across four Sydney suburbs. In Stanwell Park, where the bin raiding was most common, they noted that more than half of the bins had protection mechanisms in place. They also surveyed more than 1,100 residents in the greater Sydney and Wollongong regions. Of the respondents, 172 people from 51 suburbs reported protecting their bins against cockatoos. The most basic cockatoo deterrent was the use of a brick or other heavy item to weigh down a lid. “We have definitely seen cockatoos frequently pushing those off,” said Dr Richard Major, a senior fellow at the @australianmuseum and one of the study’s co-authors. “It’s a lot of fun watching a cockatoo pushing a brick off – you almost sense the satisfaction it gets as it does it.” Reporter: @donnadlu_ #cockatoo #sulfarcrestedcockatoo #sydney #sulphurcrestedcockatoo