Brainy Cockatoos Have Troubles

高智商鳳頭鸚鵡的痛苦

The ability to use tools is rare in the animal world， yet the cockatoos have been proven capable of more than just using tools.

在動物界中，有使用工具的能力相當罕見，鳳頭鸚鵡卻證明了自己能做的比單純使用工具還要多。

According to a paper published in Current Biology， scientists designed various tasks for a group of cockatoos. The first task was getting a nut out of a puzzle box， requiring two tools: first a short， sharp tool used to cut the membrane， and then a long stick to get the nut out of a hole. Five out of ten cockatoos were able to reach the nut.

根據發表在《當代生物學》上的一篇文章，研究人員為一群鳳頭鸚鵡設計了各種任務。第一個任務是從一個設計巧妙的盒子中取出一枚堅果，這需要用到兩種工具：首先是一件短而鋒利的工具，用以切割薄膜；其次是一根長棍，用來把堅果從洞中取出。10只鳳頭鸚鵡中，5只可以夠到堅果。

In the following tasks， the cockatoos were observed picking up tools before doing the task， showing their ability to plan ahead. Researchers also noticed that each cockatoo had a different way of carrying and using the tools.

在接下來的任務中，研究人員觀察到鳳頭鸚鵡在執行任務前會拿起工具，這顯示出鸚鵡具有提前計劃的能力。他們還注意到，每只鳳頭鸚鵡攜帶、使用工具的方式都各不相同。

“Using a set of tools means that the animal can solve problems through flexibly applying some insight of a given situation，” Mark Briffa at the University of Plymouth， UK， said.

英國普利茅斯大學的Mark Biffa表示：“使用一套工具意味著這種動物能夠根據特定情況，靈活運用洞察力解決問題。”

The great wisdom of cockatoos makes them become popular pets—they can mimic sounds and dance to music. However， these smart birds may suffer from mental health issues as well. Common signs of stress and anxiety include biting and feather picking， according to the PetMD website. Biting is often regarded as a form of attack， but sometimes cockatoos bite others due to stress and fear. Feather picking can be a more serious sign that the cockatoo is unhappy. In extreme conditions， a cockatoo may pick out all of its feathers.

鳳頭鸚鵡因高智商而成為備受歡迎的寵物——鸚鵡們可以模仿聲音，還能隨著音樂跳舞。然而，這些聰明的鳥也可能有心理健康問題。根據PetMD網站的說法，鳳頭鸚鵡受到壓力和產生焦慮的跡象包括咬人、啄羽毛。人們經常將咬人視為一種攻擊行為，但有時鳳頭鸚鵡咬人是出于壓力和恐懼。啄羽毛可能是一個更嚴重的信號，這表明鳳頭鸚鵡心情郁悶。極端情況下，鳳頭鸚鵡可能會啄掉自己所有的羽毛。

Some other pets show similar troubling behaviors too. For example， according to Discover magazine， pet dogs may compulsively chew their nails or lick their bodies so much that they form ulcers. Pets desire attention， joy and excitement. As scientists learn more about animal intelligence， we should keep in mind that they may suffer from psychological illnesses just like we do.

其他一些寵物也會表現出類似的令人擔憂的行為。例如，據《發現》雜志報道，寵物狗可能會強迫性地啃咬指甲或舔舐自己的身體，因此形成潰瘍。寵物渴望關注，追求快樂和刺激。隨著科研人員對動物智力了解得越來越多，我們應該記住，動物可能會和我們一樣患有心理疾病。

Word Bank

wisdom /'w?zd?m/ n. 智慧

I question the wisdom of giving a child so much money.

chew /t?u?/ v. 咀嚼；咬

psychological /'sa?k?'l??d??kl/ adj. 心理的