Kea curiosity: Context, causes, and consequences

Humans are a remarkably curious species. Our curiosity allows us to discover new things, pay attention to specific information, and seek explanations about our world (for example, why is the sky blue?). Our curiosity even plays an important role in how we learn and make decisions. Indeed, it has been stated that the power to question forms the basis of all human progress (Indira Gandhi). Yet humans are not the only species to show curiosity. Darwin himself reflected on curiosity as one of the shared cognitive traits between humans and other animals. However, while the last 50 years have seen a marked increase in research on animal minds, curiosity has been sorely neglected. What does curiosity look like in nonhuman animals? In what situations are animals more likely to be curious, and why? Kea (Nestor notabilis), a parrot species from New Zealand, are well-known as one of the most inquisitive species in the animal kingdom, making them ideal subjects for studies of curiosity. This project will study kea parrots by presenting them with different objects and puzzles to solve, in order to answer the following questions: 1) In what contexts does curiosity reveal itself? 2) What are the triggers of curiosity? 3) What is the function of curiosity? 4) How is information gathered and used? By teasing apart these different components of curiosity we can gain not only a better understanding of how it operates in nonhuman animals, but also of which aspects of curiosity might be shared between us and other species and, ultimately, why it might have evolved.