This African grey parrot is about to make a successful trade. Instead of immediately eating a sunflower, it takes a plastic ring that it can trade for a walnut, which parrots like better. This green macaw faces a different decision: a walnut now, or the ring to trade for a walnut later? Well, walnut now, obviously. All of this is part of a new study of parrot decision-making. Here’s the question: Would the birds be able to judge the value of a treat versus a token, and wait for the better option if necessary? Here’s how the experiment — involving four different kinds of parrots — work: Birds first learn that each token could be traded for a specific kind of food. A metal loop for dry corn — the least appealing. A metal bracket for a sunflower seed — a bit better. And a plastic ring for a walnut — which they liked best. Then they were offered complicated choices, like dry corn now versus the ring to trade later. They were able to see that it made more sense to take the ring and wait to trade it for a piece of walnut. They also reliably rejected low-value corn for a medium-value bracket, which gave them a sunflower seed. They weren’t perfect. This African grey, for example, seems to have a real taste for immediate gratification. Overall, out of the four species tested, the green macaws were consistently the best at making the right trades. But even for them, birds like Shouty here, were occasionally of two minds about their trades. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Don’t worry, Shouty. We all have trouble making decisions.