Computer scientist Hans Forsberg got the idea to build a bird feeder that would reward the local magpies for picking up litter after seeing them poking around and finangling with the locks on his outdoor lanterns. So he decided to see if the birds’ smarts and ingenuity could be put to good use.
Putting his background in robotics to use, he built a bird feeder that would accept bottle caps and then dispose peanuts as a reward. The box would contain a camera to monitor everything, and detectors below the table would process and trigger the releasing of the treats.
It would take time to get the magpies interested in the feeder and train them to place the caps in the slot with the adult birds being more cautious and hesitant of the new contraption. But once they got it, they became obsessed with picking up and trading in trash for a nice treat! See it in action in the video below. 🙂
