Researchers in England and Iceland have released a video of a puffin bird scratching itself with a stick. It's the first time wild seabirds have been spotted using tools.
A team of animal experts observed two Atlantic puffins, more than 1,000 miles apart, spontaneously scratching themselves with sticks -- the first time wild seabirds have been spotted using tools, according to new findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It's exciting for a few reasons, author Annette Fayet said: It could mean wild birds are capable of using tools and have a reason to use them. Animals who use tools typically have higher cognitive abilities.
Pointy sticks, while good for a scratch, do not make suitable bedding for persnickety puffins.The authors aren't sure just why the puffins picked up sticks, though they assume it needed to knock off seabird ticks that plague coastal populations. Perhaps the branch was a more effective removal method than its beak.
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