Carole-Anne Fooks, Yes! A Clever Bird Using a Tool! (ANIMAL & NATURE 2026)

The Black-fronted Buzzard, Hamirostra melanosternon, likes to eat the contents of emu eggs, but the shell is too thick and hard for the bird to penetrate it with its bill. These Buzzards choose a stone and hold it in their bills, dropping and/or smashing it onto the egg multiple times. Sometimes they will change their stone mid-process. Finally, the shell splits open and they are able to access the delicious contents.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.