Cockatoos learning carpentry skills sounds like a parrot sketch worthy of Monty Python.
Yet this is not an example of surreal humour. Scientists have observed the brainy birds teaching each other how to make and use wooden tools to obtain food.
It all started with a captive Goffin’s cockatoo named Figaro who surprised researchers in Austria by spontaneously fashioning stick tools from aviary beam splinters to rake up nuts. He then became the role model for other members of his species, an Indonesian parrot not known to employ tools in the wild.
‘Silly walk’ soldier in trouble
A Grenadier Guardsman who appeared to entertain tourists by pirouetting and performing silly walks while keeping guard outside Buckingham Palace is being investigated by the Army.
The unidentified soldier was filmed on duty outside the Queen’s official London home and the footage uploaded to the internet.
Guarding royal palaces is a prestigious ceremonial duty usually carried out by the five regiments of Foot Guards and occasionally by military units from countries where the Queen is head of state like Canada. The soldier is seen in the clip, posted on YouTube last month, walking outside the Palace from his sentry box to a wall a short distance away.
Judge’s job on remote islands
A British lawyer could earn more than more than £100,000 a year - and have “easy access to unique wildlife” – by securing a job as a judge in the Falkland Islands.
The Falkland Islands Government has placed an advertisement in a British law magazine for a “Senior Magistrate”. The advertisement, in Counsel Magazine, says the successful candidate will get a salary of around £102, 500 and hear the majority of criminal and civil cases in the territory.
It adds: “The role offers a fantastic opportunity to work as part of a small friendly team in an environment of stunning natural beauty with easy access to unique wildlife.”
Mary is a squirrel whisperer
A US student is gaining an internet reputation as a “squirrel whisperer” for befriending, feeding and dressing up a furry little friend she has named Sneezy.
Mary Krupa said that she is able to dress up the squirrel in party hats, or get Sneezy to hold doll-sized props, simply by feeding the animal.
Ms Krupa and Sneezy’s exploits are chronicled in a Facebook page titled Sneezy the Penn State Squirrel.
Recliner row on plane in US
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to West Palm Beach, Florida, was diverted to Jacksonville because of a dispute between passengers over a reclining seat.
A woman reportedly got into an argument with a passenger behind her when she tried to recline her seat while the other was trying to sleep on the tray table. The woman who was trying to sleep then started screaming.
A flight attendant came over and the woman who was screaming demanded that the flight be diverted. The plane landed in Jacksonville and continued on to West Palm Beach. Delta said local law enforcement removed the unruly woman from the plane.
Record-setting university feast
The new academic year at the University of Massachusetts has started with a record-setting feast.
More than 3,000 traditional New England clambake dinners were served on the Amherst campus. Chefs prepared more than 3,000 lobsters, 6,000 little neck clams, 3,000 steamers, more than 6,000 ears of corn and 1,500lb of potatoes for students and staff.
There was no previous record for largest New England clambake, but Guinness World Record officials had set a minimum bar at 1,500 meals in eight hours. The university reached that mark in about an hour.