Golf game with real-life birdie

COCKATOOS appear to be able to play golf, a study has claimed.

In an Austrian project, the birds used a beakheld stick to guide a ball to a collapsible platform to release a treat.

Dr Antonio Osuna-Mascaro, from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, came up with the idea to test tool-using abilities.

He said: ‘One of the most amazing aspects of the process was to observe how they each invented their own individual technique, sometimes with astonishing dexterity.’

Of the 11 cockatoos involved in the study, five managed to solve the golf puzzle, but six were unable to find the solution.