Footage capturing a rebellious sulphur-crested cockatoo’s triumph over bird guard spikes has gone viral on Facebook.
The video posted on the social network – titled “Fuck the police” – by Isaac Sherring-Tito shows the cockatoo perched high on a ledge above a street slowly pulling away and ripping off the spikes installed to prevent birds like the cockatoo from perching on the ledge.
The camera pans down to reveal that the cockatoo has been ripping off the spikes for the entire length of the ledge.
The video was shared on Monday and has had more than 17,000 shares, and close to 3,000 comments at the time of reporting.
Sherring-Tito told Guardian Australia he had filmed the cockatoo’s defiant act in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Monday.
The ledge in question is above the Town Centre Arcade on Katoomba Street, and the cockatoo is infamous in the area.
Heh. That wall is on Katoomba Street. This is the spot. He cons tourists out of their snacks just down the street. https://t.co/7JD9CKiRcr pic.twitter.com/iBxKDGMGpN
— Stilgherrian (@stilgherrian) July 5, 2019
Sean Dooley, the editor of Australian Birdlife magazine, said cockatoos “seem to take great enjoyment” out of doing that sort of damage, “whether it is random vandalism or more strategic damage”.
“They do seem to take great delight in it,” he said. “It’s pretty evident that cockatoos in particular are very intelligent birds and have, within their social structure, have to us what looks like playing.”
Because they feed on seeds and easily obtainable, highly nutritious food, Dooley said cockatoos have a lot of time on their hands to play.
The sulphur-crested cockatoo placed 11th in the Guardian’s 2017 Australian bird of the year poll, receiving 2.7% of the vote. The viral video could help boost the cockatoo’s chances in the 2019 poll, which will run in September.
Cockatoos are not the only bird to have thwarted the spikes. In Geraldton, the local church and other buildings have reportedly been plagued by corellas which have also ripped up spikes installed to prevent them nesting on buildings.
