Tanimbar corella#Intelligence

File:Cacatua goffiniana -captive-8a-3c.jpg

Tanimbar corellas weigh, on average, about {{convert|250|g|oz|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} for females and {{convert|300|g|oz|abbr=on}} for males. They are about {{convert|31|cm|in|abbr=on}} from head to tail.

Like all members of the family Cacatuidae, the Tanimbar corella is crested, meaning it has a collection of feathers on its head that it can raise or lower. Its body is mainly covered with white feathers, with salmon- or pink-colored feathers between the beak and eyes. The deeper (proximal) parts of the crest feathers and neck feathers are also a salmon color, but the coloration here is hidden by the white color of the more superficial (distal) areas of these feathers. The underside of its wing and tail feathers exhibit a yellowish tinge. The beak is pale grey and the eye colour is brown in females and black in males. The males are slightly larger, but otherwise look similar to the females.

In captivity, Tanimbar corellas live up to 30 years, making them one of the shorter-lived cockatoo species.{{cite journal|title=Survival on the ark: life-history trends in captive parrots|last1=Young|first1=A.M. |last2=Hobson| first2=E.A. |last3=Bingaman Lackey|first3=L. |last4=Wright| first4 =T.F.|year=2012|journal=Animal Conservation|volume=1|issue=1 |pages=28–43|doi=10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00477.x|pmid=22389582 |pmc=3289156 |bibcode=2012AnCon..15...28Y }}

Not much is known about the breeding behaviour of this species in the wild. Their breeding season is unknown and little is known of their mating behaviors. Two or three eggs are laid per clutch.{{cite web |title=Goffin's Cockatoo (Cacatua goffiniana) |url=https://www.parrots.org/encyclopedia/goffins-cockatoo |publisher=World Parrot Trust |access-date=23 December 2020}}

Virtually all knowledge of this species' breeding habits comes from captive-bred populations. Aviculturists in the United Kingdom have reported that the Tanimbar corella breeds from late spring – with the eggs hatching before July after an incubation period around 28 days, the nest being attended to by both parents. The hen feeds her offspring for roughly three weeks after fledging. No courtship behavior was observed between cock and hen prior to mating.{{cite book |last1=Mulawka |first1=Edward John |title=The Cockatoos |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |isbn=978-1-4766-1471-7 |chapter=9}}

File:Cacatua goffiniana -juvenile -pet-8a.jpg

Due to ongoing habitat loss on Tanimbar, limited range, and illegal hunting, the Tanimbar corella is evaluated as near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.{{cite web|url=http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml|title=Appendices I, II and III|publisher=CITES |date=2011-04-27|access-date=2011-07-29}}{{citation|url=http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.shtml |title=The CITES Appendices |publisher=CITES |access-date=2011-07-29 }} In the 1970s, Japanese loggers ravaged the islands. Many of the dazed, disoriented birds were captured for the pet trade. Although many died from stress during shipment, a small silver lining may remain behind this ecological disaster, because many Tanimbar corellas have reproduced in captive-breeding programs. As such, more Tanimbar corellas are now in captivity than in the wild.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

Historically, the discovery of the species as Lophochroa goffini is attributed to Otto Finsch in 1863.{{cite journal|last=Finsch|first=Otto|year=1863|title=Naamlijst der in de Diergaarde levende papegaaijen, ten dienste der bezoekers van den tuin ingerigt|journal=Nederl. Tijdschr. Dierk|volume=1|pages=vi–xxiv}} It was named for Andreas Leopold Goffin, a friend of Finsch's and apparently a Dutch naval lieutenant who died the same year at the age of 26.{{cite web |url=http://www.scricciolo.com/Nuovo_Neornithes/appendice.htm |title=Chronology of the History of Ornithology |last=Masi |first=Alberto |work=scricciolo.com |publisher=Scricciolo |access-date=2010-06-11|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610085148/http://www.scricciolo.com/Nuovo_Neornithes/appendice.htm|archive-date=2011-06-10}}

In 2000, Finsch's formal description of this species was found to be based on two specimens that actually belonged to an entirely different cockatoo species, Ducorps' or Solomons cockatoo (Cacatua ducorpsii).{{cite journal| last=Roselaar |first=C.S. |author2=T.G. Prins |year=2000 |title=List of type specimens of birds in the Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam (ZMA), including taxa described by ZMA staff but without types in ZMA |journal=Beaufortia |volume=50 |pages=95–126}} Cacatua goffini thus became a synonym for Cacatua ducorpsii, leaving this species without a proper scientific name and description. In 2004, the species was formally described as Cacatua goffiniana, maintaining the intent of Finsch to name a species of cockatoo after his friend. The new description is based on an individual collected from the Tanimbar Islands in 1923 by Dr. Felix Kopstein.{{cite journal |last=Roselaar |first=C.S. |author2=J.P. Michels |year=2004 |title=Systematic notes on Asian birds. 48. Nomenclatural chaos untangled, resulting in the naming of the formally undescribed Cacatua species from the Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia (Psittaciformes: Cacatuidae) |journal=Zoologische Verhandelingen |volume=350 |pages=183–196| url=http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/43942 |access-date=2010-06-11}}

Image:Goffins Cockatoo in flight in harness.jpg

In aviculture, the parrot is widely known as Goffin's cockatoo. Pet birds hand reared from hatching can imitate human speech, but generally they are not good talkers.{{cite web |last1=Kalhagen |first1=Alyson |title=Goffin's Cockatoo: Bird Species Profile |url=https://www.thesprucepets.com/goffins-cockatoos-390565 |website=The Spruce Pets |access-date=23 December 2020}} They are generally quieter than the "large cockatoos", but can still be quite loud, and they have a sharp screech that some find irritating.

Tanimbar corellas learn by watching and copying. Just by opening the cage door, a Tanimbar corella's attention can be drawn to the latch on its cage and it can learn by trial and error how to open the latch with its beak and escape the cage in seconds. Tanimbar corellas can destroy furniture with their beaks and can chew through wires and cause potentially dangerous electrical incidents.

Hand-reared Tanimbar corellas tend to demand a lot of attention. Occasionally, captive birds of this species (like many cockatoos) develop self-destructive behaviours such as feather-plucking, or stereotypy if they do not have an interesting and enriching environment. Caged Tanimbar corellas require a frequent change of toys to play with so they do not become bored. They need time out of their cage for one-on-one social contact of at least four hours daily and also to exercise their wings and fly. Even very tame birds can bite humans when irritated or even when being excessively playful. Their droppings are semisolid and can be messy. The World Parrot Trust recommends that the Tanimbar corella be kept in an enclosure with a minimum length of 3 m. Many new bird owners are not aware of the time and money a cockatoo demands, and pet birds are often passed from one owner to the next or relinquished to animal shelters.

Tanimbar corella chicks make a repetitive soft howling/screeching noise (producer calls) when they are hungry.

In the UK, their sale is controlled as they are classified as a rare species (CITES Appendix I). The seller of each bird must have an official certificate to prove that it was captive-bred and not imported.{{cite web |last1=Longworth |first1=Claire |title=BIRDS AND THE LAW – Cites information |url=https://birdline.co.uk/cites/ |website=Birdline UK |date=January 2021 |access-date=27 June 2022}}

File:Innovative flavoring behavior in Goffin’s cockatoos 1.webm

Experimental evidence from multiple studies appear to indicate that the Tanimbar corella possesses considerable intelligence. Tool-use behaviour has been observed by this species in captivity. It was reported in November 2012 by Professor Alice Auersperg of the University of Vienna that a male named Figaro was observed spontaneously shaping splinters of wood and small sticks to create rakes that were then used to extend his reach and retrieve otherwise unavailable food items located on the other side of his aviary mesh.{{cite journal|last1=Auersperg|first1=Alice M.I.|first2=Birgit |last2=Szabo |first3=Auguste M.P. |last3=von Bayern |first4 = Alex | last4=Kacelnik|title=Spontaneous innovation in tool manufacture and use in a Goffin's cockatoo|journal=Current Biology|date=6 November 2012|volume=22|issue=21|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.09.002 |pages=R903–R904 |pmid=23137681|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012CBio...22.R903A }}{{cite web|last=Warwicker|first=Michelle|title=Cockatoo shows tool-making skills|work=BBC Nature |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20170195|access-date=7 November 2012}}

In July 2013, the results of a joint study involving scientists from University of Oxford, the University of Vienna, and the Max Planck Institute, again involving the Tanimbar corellas of the Vienna Goffin Lab, were announced. The birds were discovered to possess the ability to solve complex mechanical problems, in one case spontaneously working out how to open a five-part locking mechanism in sequence to retrieve a food item. The corellas were able to very quickly adapt their behaviour and again open the lock when the mechanism sections were modified or reordered, demonstrating an apparent concept of working towards a particular goal and knowledge of the way in which physical objects act upon each other – rather than merely an ability to repeat a learned sequence of actions.{{cite web|title=Cockatoos 'Pick' Puzzle Box Locks: Cockatoos Show Technical Intelligence on a Five-Lock Problem|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130704095123.htm|publisher=ScienceDaily|access-date=6 July 2013}} A 2022 study involving a golf-like task further demonstrated the Tanimbar corella's problem-solving skills, with the cockatoos spontaneously figuring out how to use a stick to hit a marble into a designated hole to release a cashew nut reward. One bird (Figaro – also featured in the 2012 experiment) also devised a method of cheating the test, using his stick as a lever to lift and drop the test apparatus and trigger the cashew release mechanism.{{cite web |last1=Funnell |first1=Rachael |title=Cockatoos' Impressive Golfing Skills Prove They're Capable of Complex Tool Use |url=https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/cockatoos-impressive-golfing-skills-prove-theyre-capable-of-complex-tool-use/ |website=IFL Science |date=27 January 2022 |access-date=1 February 2022}}

A later experiment also conducted at the Vienna Goffin Lab by Prof. Auersperg and her team broadly adapted the Stanford marshmallow experiment for the Tanimbar corella, to investigate whether the birds were capable of self-control and of anticipating a delayed gain. The corellas were given the opportunity to exchange a favoured food item (in this case a pecan nut) for an even more desirable nut (a cashew), if they were only able to hold the first nut for a period of time and then return it to the human researcher's hand uneaten – at which point the nuts would be exchanged. Although pecan nuts are normally consumed instantly, the corellas were able to resist the temptation to eat the nut for periods of time for up to 80 seconds, once aware that a cashew was also on offer. This behaviour (having also previously been demonstrated in corvids) further disproves the previous belief that birds are incapable of self-control.{{cite web|title=Doing Business With a Parrot: Self-Control Observed in Cockatoos|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130313112426.htm|publisher=Science Daily|access-date=20 March 2013}} Further work by Auersperg's team, published in November 2018, showed that the corellas could cut cardboard to length with their beak, to obtain a reward, but seemed unable to change the width of the tools, perhaps due to the physical limitations of their beaks.{{cite journal|title=Tool making cockatoos adjust the lengths but not the widths of their tools to function|first1=A. M. I.|last1=Auersperg|first2=C.|last2=Köck|first3=M.|last3=O'Hara|first4=L.|last4=Huber|journal=PLOS One|volume=13|issue=11|page=e0205429|date=2018-11-07|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205429|pmid=30403673|pmc=6221259|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1305429A|doi-access=free}}

Further research in 2020 by Auersperg's team compared the problem-solving ability of the captive-bred corellas at the Goffin Lab with wild birds caught in Tanimbar and exposed to the same experimental conditions – in which the birds were placed in an "innovation arena" and presented a series of 20 different tasks (e.g. pressing a button, turning a wheel, pulling out a drawer, removing a twig, overturning a cup, opening a clip, etc.), in which they could choose to partake, to obtain a food reward. While the wild Goffins were less inclined to interact with the test apparatus, those that did solved the presented tasks at a similar rate to the captive-bred birds.{{cite journal |last1=Rössler |first1=Theresa |last2=Mioduszewska |first2=Berenika |last3=O’Hara |first3=Mark |last4=Huber |first4=Ludwig |last5=Prawiradilaga |first5=Dewi M. |last6=Auersperg |first6=Alice M. I. |title=Using an Innovation Arena to compare wild-caught and laboratory Goffin's cockatoos |journal=Scientific Reports |date=26 May 2020 |volume=10 |issue=8681 |page=8681 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-65223-6 |pmid=32457402 |pmc=7250841 |bibcode=2020NatSR..10.8681R |doi-access=free }}

Wild corellas were also observed shaping sticks of different dimensions to create a series of tools, which enabled them to eat sea mango seeds.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.009 |title=Wild Goffin's cockatoos flexibly manufacture and use tool sets |journal=Current Biology |year=2021 |doi-access=free|last1=o'Hara |first1=Mark |last2=Mioduszewska |first2=Berenika |last3=Mundry |first3=Roger |last4=Yohanna |last5=Haryoko |first5=Tri |last6=Rachmatika |first6=Rini |last7=Prawiradilaga |first7=Dewi M. |last8=Huber |first8=Ludwig |last9=Auersperg |first9=Alice M.I. |volume=31 |issue=20 |pages=4512–4520.e6 |pmid=34469771 |bibcode=2021CBio...31E4512O }}

A 2020 study concluded that the Tanimbar corella may be capable of developing reading-comprehension skills. In experimental conditions, a hen bird named Ellie demonstrated the ability to associate written words with images and spoken words with an accuracy of 94%, thus displaying orthographic processing, grapheme-phoneme correspondence, and semantic processing, three skills that are required for reading.{{cite journal |last1=Cunha |first1=Jennifer |last2=Rhoads |first2=Carlie |last3=Clubb |first3=Susan |title=Reading Comprehension Skills in a Goffin's Cockatoo (Cacatua goffiniana) |journal=Exoticscon |date=January 2020 |url=https://www.academia.edu/43144584 |publisher=ExoticsCon 2020 Proceedings |access-date=13 January 2022}} Ellie also learned how to use a communication board on a tablet computer to express her wishes to researchers, touching symbols on the screen to request food items, drinks, activities, objects, and social interaction.{{cite book |last1=Cunha |first1=Jennifer |last2=Roads |first2=Carlie |title=Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction |chapter=Use of a Tablet-Based Communication Board and Subsequent Choice and Behavioral Correspondences in a Goffin's Cockatoo (Cacatua goffiana) |date=November 2020 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1145/3446002.3446063 |isbn=9781450375740 |s2cid=232327012 |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3446002.3446063 |access-date=13 January 2022}}

In 2025, goffins were observing preferentially dunking noodles and potato pieces in blueberry yoghurt in order to flavor their food.{{Cite journal |last1=Zewald |first1=Jeroen Stephan |last2=Auersperg |first2=Alice Marie Isabel |date=2025-02-10 |title=Innovative flavoring behavior in Goffin's cockatoos |journal=Current Biology |volume=35 |issue=5 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.002 |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free |bibcode=2025CBio...35.1107Z |pmc=7617653 }}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Cacatua goffiniana}}

• [http://www.parrots.org/index.php/encyclopedia/profile/goffins_cockatoo/ World Parrot Trust] Parrot Encyclopedia – Species Profiles
• [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/offbeat/cockatoo-makes-and-uses-tools-16234529.html "Cockatoo 'makes and uses tools'"], Belfast Telegraph, 6 November 2012
• [https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/cognition/loeschen-goffin-lab Dr. Alice Auersperg's Goffin Lab] at the Messerli Research Institute

{{Cockatoos}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q757402}}

Tanimbar corella

Category:Birds of the Tanimbar Islands

Tanimbar corella

Category:Endemic birds of Indonesia

Category:Taxa named by J. Pieter Michels