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They are not just pretty faces. Cockatoos can learn how to make and use tools, a study found.

The clever birds fashioned and used rakes made from pieces of wood to bring tasty morsel of foods within reach.

What is more, they didn't simply copy the technique. Instead, they adapted it, so that their version was better than the original.

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Two years ago, a cockatoo called Figaro (pictured) came up with the idea of biting a piece of wood of his aviary beam and using it to inch a piece of food within reach. This ingenuity made the bird at Oxford University the first known member of the parrot family to make tools, a feat once thought to be uniquely human

Oxford University researcher Alex Kacelnik said: 'The cockatoos seem to emulate and surpass their teacher, which is what all good professors hope for from their best students.'

Two years ago, Professor Kacelnik told of his amazement that a cockatoo called Figaro came up with the idea of biting a piece of wood of his aviary beam and using it to inch a piece of food within reach.

This ingenuity made Figaro the first known member of the parrot family to make tools, a feat once thought to be uniquely human.

Now, the professor has shown that other cockatoos can learn to make and use tools, by watching Figaro give 'carpentry classes'.

The three other males tested - Doolittle, Pipin and Kiwi - learnt to use wooden sticks – and had a technique that was superior to their teacher's.

Professor Kacelnik said: 'There is a substantial difference between repeating a teacher's behaviour and emulating his or hers achievements while creating one's own methods.

'The latter implies a creative process stimulated by a social interaction. While the former could, at least potentially, rely on simple imitation.'  

Parrots show their ability to learn how to make tools

Now, three male cockatoos have learnt to use wooden sticks at Oxford University by mimicking Figaro. One of the three (Kiwi pictured) made his own stick without prompting, while a second fashioned a stick after watching Figaro perform the same task

One of the three made his own stick without prompting and a second fashioned one after watching Figaro.

None of the females tested succeeded and they seemed less motivated than the males, the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B reports.

Although many animals can use sticks and tools if they happen to come upon them, few physically fashion them.

Other than the cockatoos studied here, examples include New Caledonian crows, which make hook-like sticks to spear insects, and chimps that use their teeth to fan out the ends of the sticks they use to catch termites.

All of the birds tested were Goffin's cockatoos. Native to Indonesia, they are friendly birds sometimes kept as pets. 

Parrots teach each other how to use tools in new study

Professor Kacelnik from Oxford University said: 'There is a difference between repeating a teacher's behaviour and emulating his or hers achievements while creating one's own methods. The latter implies a creative process stimulated by a social interaction. While the former could, rely on simple imitation'. Dolittle is pictured

All of the birds tested were Goffin's cockatoos. Native to Indonesia, they are friendly birds sometimes kept as pets. Pipin is pictured using the stick to move the food inside the cage. None of the females tested succeeded and they seemed less motivated than the males