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This Hi-Tech Bird Feeder Lets Clever Magpies Exchange Bottle Caps for Food (mymodernmet.com)

submitted 6 months ago by anzo@programming.dev to c/diy@slrpnk.net

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This is clever. But in a way, it's also shifting the environmental impact from these bottle caps. I can't imagine under which conditions the birds' may be a problem (e.g. getting too much food). Maybe someone with better knowledge on these species can tell if there could be a downside (no matter how improbable, just the risk of X). Such risk may include the interaction through second or third organisms (e.g. lack of seed spread, abundance of parasitic prokaryotr, etc.)

Biological question aside, anyway... This is so cool! I'd like to try building one myself ;)

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[–] Wytch@lemmy.zip 11 points 6 months ago

OK but how can you tell if the caps they turn in are actual litter and not from bottles they bought themselves? Seems like an easy system to exploit

[–] veroxii@aussie.zone 10 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Can't find it now but I recall a documentary where they did exactly the same thing but trained the birds to bring real money coins.

Somehow they got coins from somewhere to pay for food.

[–] HubertManne@kbin.social 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I swear I saw it with cigarette buts.

[–] Zoop 1 points 6 months ago

I remember seeing that, too.

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[–] Zoop 7 points 6 months ago

How neat! I'm also curious about the impacts of this type of thing like you mentioned. Hopefully it's a net positive. 🤞 It's a super cool concept! Thanks for sharing it here!

[–] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I was expecting we'd have robots do this in the future but if birds can do it instead then it's cool with me

[–] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 1 points 6 months ago

Becase we know that er're too stupid to do it for sure

[–] Colour_me_triggered@lemm.ee 3 points 6 months ago

Planning for the future! Smart!