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We'll see you next time. Is that our way, Houston?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 26th Annual Paint Drying World Championships!
This year representing the United States of America is Guy Raz!
Thank you. Thank you. Competitors, prepare yourselves.
Okay. Ready. Freshly painted walls at the ready.
On your marks, get set, stand. Try. Try.
Try. Try. Try. Try. Try. Try. Try. Oh, Mindy, I was just having the most wonderful dream.
Okay, well, it's time to let go of your dreams, Sky Ross, because look, We're almost there.
Oh, I see the sign. University for Clever Birds.
Next exit. I still can't believe my little Reggie is all grown up and going off to college.
Pass me a tissue, Reg. And UCB, no less.
Such a prestigious university. I'm sure you're going to do great there, Reggie.
Slamming on the brakes! Oh no! And here we are, UCB, the University for Clever Birds.
Looks like we got here just in time. Mindy, we're right in the middle of a four-way intersection.
You can't stop here. Yeah, I can. I just did.
And Reggie's dorm room is just around the corner over there, so we can just stop and walk the rest of the way.
See? We're all set. Opening the door. Come on, everyone.
Mindy, wait up! Wow, Mindy, look at this place.
I know, Guy Raz. Look at all these different birds with all their humans.
They must be so proud. Hey, y'all. Welcome to the University for Clever Birds, known by everyone here as UCB.
Can I interest you in a sticker or a sweatshirt or a hat?
Ooh, are they free? In that case, I'll take all three.
What the... Thank you. Wait a minute. No, not the hat I'm wearing.
Look, I've got one right here for you. Sheesh.
Sorry. I'm just so excited. I suppose I can understand that.
What with dropping off your little bundle of feathers here.
Oh, I'm just teasing. I know you're a big bird.
Oh, yes, this here is my pigeon Reggie. Reggie, say hi.
They grow up so fast, don't they? They really do.
Don't worry. Today isn't just about your little Reggie here.
We have plenty of events going on for all y'all humans, too.
Oh, really? You bet. It's all right here in our flyer.
Wait, flyers? I love flyers. Mindy! Mindy, stop!
Oh, for Lance's sake! Mindy! Sorry! Okay, now, as you can see, we've got plenty of activities. acapella songbirds are performing at 2, there's an aerial display by our resident peregrine falcon at 4, and of course,
Y'all are welcome to sample any one of our in-bird classes.
Free classes? That's right. They're all listed on that flyer right there.
See? Oh, Guy Raz. Look at this. What is it, Mindy?
This glass right here. trash can opening 101 with Professor Birdman?
Mindy, what? What is this? I've heard about this course, Guy Raz.
It's based on a new study from the Australian Museum Research Institute.
The Australian Australian Museum Research Institute?
Uh-huh. It's all about how one of Australia's most popular birds, the sulfur-crested cockatoo, how it's learned how to open and get inside trash cans using only its beak.
You picked it. That's one of our most popular courses.
Can we check it out, Guy Raz? Please, just sit in on the class.
I mean, I don't see what's so impressive about opening a trash can. but I'm excited to see what the teaching facilities are like here.
Yes! Oh, y'all are gonna love it. The lecture hall is just over that-a-way.
Head past the bird housing and the bird baths and then hang a left before you get to the bird seed stadium.
Thank you. Enjoy yourselves. Hey, y'all.
Welcome to UCB. Oh, you're gonna go set up your dorm room, Reg?
Well, do you need some help decorating? Okay, okay.
What is it, Mindy? Well, apparently Mr. Independent over here doesn't need any help from his humans anymore.
Well, Reggie is a full-grown pigeon now.
It's time for him to do things for himself.
He's finally leaving the nest. Actually, Guy Raz, Reggie's new dorm room is a giant nest, so... Of course it is.
Okay, Reg. Guy Raz, he says he'll catch up with us later once he's settled in.
Well, see you later, Reggie. See you soon, buddy.
Well, I guess we're on our own now, Mindy.
Should we try and find that class? Yeah, let me see if I can find the lecture hall on the map here.
I think he said it was this way. Oh, good news.
The map says it's this way too. Come on.
So, Mindy, what exactly is this class about again?
Oh, trash cans. Oh, right, and how some birds in Australia were able to open them, right?
Uh-huh. Specifically, sulfur-crested cockatoos.
They look like big white parrots with yellow mohawks.
And apparently, they love getting in the trash.
Well, why is there a class about that? I mean, have you ever tried being a bird and opening a trash can?
No, actually, I haven't tried doing anything as a bird come to think of it, Mindy.
Well, let me tell you from personal experience, it's really hard to do.
You can't really use your wings, so all you've got to work with is your little bird feet and your little bird beak.
Uh-huh. And secondly, it's how these birds were able to learn this new skill that's the most interesting part.
Well, what do you mean? Come to class and you'll find out.
Speaking of which, I think we're here. Let's see on this brochure.
Past the bird baths and left at the seed bell.
Yeah, I think this is it. The Larry Bird Lecture Hall.
Come on, Guy Raz. Let's get inside before all the perches are taken.
Oh man, are we too late? I think I see a couple of seats over there, Mindy.
Oh! Covered in bird poop. But you know what?
It's never stopped me before. Come on! Excuse me.
Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me.
Sorry, can you just move your, yeah, just move your beak.
Thank you. Sorry. And seated. By seated, I mean perched.
This is uncomfortable. Shh. Is that supposed to be the professor?
I don't know Oh, I mean, it is a class about how sulfur-crested cockatoos open trash cans, and that is a sulfur-crested cockatoo.
This is horrible. I have no idea what's going on.
I don't speak English. Cockatoo, do you?
Unfortunately, I don't, Guy Raz. I'm only fluent in Pigeon and Falcon.
Well then, what are we going to do? Ah, hello.
Sorry for being late, everybody. I can see you've already met my teaching assistant, Lulu.
Lulu the cockatoo? Yes, very good. Very good.
Now... Greetings, one and all, and welcome to how to open a trash can 101.
I am Professor Birdman. I can see a lot of eager feathered faces out there, so let's dive in.
This is a gradual learning process. It doesn't just happen overnight, but by the end of this course, if you put in the hard yards and commit yourself I guarantee that each and every one of you will be able to do this.
There's the trash can. Lulu, do you mind giving the class a demonstration?
She's so small compared to that thing. Is she really going to be able to get the lid off of that giant trash can?
You go, Lulu! Get that trash, girl! Get it!
Get that! Yes, very good, very good. Now, I know what you all must be thinking.
Blimey, that's an awfully talented bird you've got there, Mr. Birdman.
That's exactly right. Exactly what I was thinking!
Quiet, Mindy! And yes, that is true. Lulu is a very talented bird.
However, this specific behavior was learnt.
And it's something that I believe each and every one of you can learn today.
Do you really think that even I will someday be able to open a trash can with my mouth, Kairos?
Well, I'm going to be honest, Mindy. I still don't see what the big deal is.
The big deal, Guy Raz, is that up until now, scientists believed that the only animals capable of learning skills from one another were humans.
Maybe a few other species like meerkats and apes.
You mean skills like opening a trash can?
Exactly. You see, a lot of learning in the animal kingdom is genetic, meaning that it's something that animals just know how to do deep down in their guts.
Like they're just born knowing it. Kind of like a buffalo knowing where to migrate to and at what time of the year to do it.
Uh-huh. And it's pretty... It's pretty rare that one animal will teach another animal how to do something.
Ah, okay. Well, I think I'm starting to get why this class is so special.
Now, you might be asking yourself... Why would you, a bird, want to open up a garbage bin lid?
What possible reason could you have for wanting to open a trash can?
Hello? Over here. Yes, you. There. Over there.
The one with the internet pants. actually my answer in my other pants, sir.
However, I do know the answer to your question.
And what is it? To enjoy an all you can eat garbage buffet.
Well, we in academia call it foraging, but yes, you are essentially correct.
Now, foraging is the activity in which animals...
So Mindy, these birds have been learning how to open these trash cans to forage for food?
Yeah, those researchers from Australia called it a unique foraging behavior.
What he said. Huh. And how did these scientists know that this unique foraging behavior was in fact a learned skill and not something that these birds just knew deep down in their bones.
Well, they were able to figure it out with a little help from citizen scientists.
Citizen scientists? Yes. You see, a citizen scientist is a person...
I know what citizen science is, Mindy. I'm actually part of a citizen scientist project at the moment with my local Lepidopterarium.
A lepidopterarium is a zoo for butterflies.
I know what a lepidopterarium is, Guy Raz.
Well, anyway, every time I see a butterfly in my backyard, I make a note about what kind of butterfly it is in my notebook.
And then, at the end of the week, I send my observations to the scientists at the Lepidopterarium so they can get a better idea of what kind of butterflies live in the area oh that's pretty wow yeah i mean just because i'm not a scientist doesn't mean i can't help with scientific research Yeah, you're right.
And that's exactly what these researchers from Australia did.
They called for help from citizen scientists?
Uh-huh. Wow. These researchers... With the help of everyday citizen scientists just like you and me, they observed this behavior in more than 40 different neighborhoods around the Australian Sea. in the city of Sydney.
Now I have a few visual aids here. And look, Professor Birdman has a map of it up on the big screen.
On this map of Sydney, these dots here mark where cockatoos were observed opening trash cans.
As you can see, these dots are not spread out all over the city, no, instead they are strung together, one neighborhood to another.
He's right, Mindy. Look at that map. All of those observations seem to be attached to one another.
Meaning? Meaning that this unique foraging behavior of opening trash cans is being spread by word of mouth.
Well, technically it's being spread by word of a beak.
But, yeah. Yeah, as you can see on the map, it looks as though this behavior is traveling from one neighborhood to the next.
Fascinating. And as we can see this behavior is traveling from one neighborhood to the next.
Told ya. and this used to be the only way that one could learn this sort of behavior by word of beak But now, thanks to this new course at UCB, we'll be able to pass on these crucial life skills to all you little birdies.
Thank you. Thank you so much. And I look forward to seeing all your February faces at the start of semester.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Hey, Cat Ross, come on.
Let's get out of here. This lecture hall's getting a little stuffy, and I'm starting to smell the bird poop.
And we should probably go check in on Reggie.
Opening the door? Good to get back out in the fresh air.
You know, Mindy, that class was actually a lot more enlightening than I thought it would be.
I know! And that new research can really help us to understand how animals learn from each other. and also how animals are able to adapt to urban environments like big cities.
Ah, you mean like how animals and humans can live together in big cities?
Exactly. You know, Guy Raz, there's a lot We can learn from Bird College.
What do you say we get ourselves some feathery toucan suits and enroll in some classes?
What do you say we don't? Reggie! Wow, look at you, Reggie.
You're dressed head to toe in UCB spirit wear.
You've got the hat, the jacket, the... cape?
Shh! Uh-oh. What is it, Mindy? Uh, you're not going to believe this, Guy Raz.
Believe what? Reggie has made a new friend.
That's great news. I knew he'd fit in here.
With a cockatoo. Oh. And the cockatoo has invited us all to lunch, Guy Raz.
Oh, what a nice offer. You wanna guess where we'll be getting this lunch, Kairos?
Oh, right. Let me just pull up the directions to the nearest dumpster.
Oh, no, not the... You know, I had a really big breakfast earlier, and I'm doing this intermittent fasting thing, and I've got all these bird seeds in my pocket. here for snacking and uh you know i i think maybe i'll pass on this one just a little bit but you guys have a great time Loud in the World will be right back.
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Back to the show. Hi, thanks for calling Wow in the World.
After the beep, get ready to record. Hi, my name is Ren.
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A screaming armadillo screams at its enemies until they go away.
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Reggie, Static Man, and Baby B. End of messages.
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And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
Wow in the World is written by Mindy Thomas and Tom Van Kalken with help from me, Guy Raz.
Original sound design and music editing is done by our senior producer Jed Anderson and Tyler Thull.
You can also hear Jed Anderson in the voices of Dennis, Thomas Fingerling, Reggie, and many of the other silly characters you hear on our show.
Jessica Bode keeps our facts straight as our fact checker.
And Meredith Halpern-Ranzer powers the wow at Tinkercast.
Our theme song was composed and performed by three-time Grammy nominees, The Pop-Ups.
Find them at thepopups.com. Special thanks to the rest of our team of tinkerers, including Anna Zagorski, Rebecca Caban, Kit Ballinger, and Henry Moskal.
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Thanks again for listening, and until next time, be fun wowing!
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