A camera set up to monitor the traffic has copped an eyeful of nature after a curious cockatoo was filmed continually popping its head in and out of frame.

The camera, set up on Murgatroyd Road just south of Cairns in north Queensland, captured the bird, which must have been perched on top the equipment, playfully poking around the lens before giving it a long stare with its beady, black eye.

A 30-second clip of the encounter was uploaded to the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Road's Facebook page on Friday afternoon where it quickly gained attention.

In less than an hour, the original video was shared by more than 3,100 people and had been viewed more than 60,000 times.

Another hour on and more than 134,000 people had watched the clip.

Brisbane Bird Vet owner Dr Adrian Gallagher said the cockatoo could have been sussing out its own reflection.

"In a situation like this, it could be curious or it may recognise itself in the lens of the camera," Dr Gallagher said.

"If it's seeing its reflection it may be communicating in some way.

"They're very social creatures, and they recognise individuals. A lot of them have friendship groups like we do.

"In a flock they'll have a friendship structure, so this guy might be curious, wondering if [his reflection] is part of the flock, how it recognises this being, asking 'what are you doing in my environment, what are you doing in my territory'."

A Transport and Main Roads spokeswoman said this particular cockatoo is a regular visitor to the traffic camera.

"Our traffic management operators sometimes have to give the camera a jiggle to make him fly away when he chews on the camera and cables," the spokeswoman said.

"Apart from serving as a convenient perch for birdlife, our cameras provide us with important data, which is used to monitor and respond to emerging network issues."

Two years ago a traffic camera in Canada captured a snowy owl in flight, looking stunning against a white winter background above a Montreal freeway.