In 2021, scientists reported that Sydney cockatoos had learned to pry open garbage bins; by the end of 2019, the trick had spread across 44 suburbs

News from Sydney about cockatoos that learned to open garbage bins drew global attention because it offered a rare look at cultural spread in wild animals. What began with one cockatoo in a few Sydney suburbs had spread to about 40 suburbs within a few years. Scientific interest began when Richard Major, an ecologist at the Australian Museum, observed a sulphur-crested cockatoo lifting the lid of a garbage bin near his home, as described in the Australian Museum’s media release on the cockatoo bin‑opening research. He later worked with scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany to see how widespread the behavior had become and how it spread among birds.

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