Six clever crows specially trained to pick up cigarette butts and rubbish will be put to work from next week at a French theme park.

The birds will be encouraged to spruce up the historical park through the use of a small box that delivers a pinch of bird food each time the bird deposits a cigarette or small piece of rubbish at the Puy du Fou park, in the western Vendee region.

Nicolas de Villiers, president of the park explained: “The goal is not just to clear up, because the visitors are generally careful to keep things clean” but also to show that “nature itself can teach us to take care of the environment.”

Rooks, a member of the crow family of birds that also includes the carrion crow, jackdaw and raven, are considered to be “particularly intelligent” and “like to communicate with humans and establish a relationship through play”, Monsieur Villiers said.

New Caledonian crows have been observed in the wild using sticks with their beaks to extract insects from logs like little spades.