Australian researchers fitted five magpies with GPS trackers to map their movements, but the birds began removing one another’s harnesses within minutes, turning a failed trial into an unexpected observation of cooperation
When researchers tried to track Australian magpies, the birds turned the tables—systematically removing each other’s harnesses and revealing something far more interesting than GPS coordinates.
The first removal took less than an hour
The researchers saw tagged birds peck at their own harnesses, but the clearest removals involved help from untagged flockmates.
One juvenile first tried to reach its own tracker. Another juvenile approached and pecked at the harness without releasing it. An adult female then worked at several points until the device came away, about ten minutes after she began and within an hour of the tracker being fitted.
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smarter than most humans isn’t saying much
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