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Examined the role of exposure to previously trained birds or to previously opened milk bottles in facilitating the acquisition of milk-bottle opening by 16 naive black capped chickadees. Four Ss opened a sealed cream container on their first exposure to it, and a majority of Ss that had not initially opened containers did so after exposure to an open container of food or to a tutor opening a similar container. None of the 4 Ss in a control group learned to open containers on their own. It is clear from RA Hinde and J. Fisher's (1949) description of milk-bottle opening by free-living birds that experience with previously opened bottles was available to naive birds. The present results indicate that such experience may be sufficient in itself to establish milk-bottle opening behavior, and such behavior does not necessarily represent imitative learning.(10 ref)(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)