Mysteries of Bird Brains

Being called a "bird-brain" is the opposite of a compliment. In other words, this form mockery is implying that an individual is obnoxiously stupid and ignorant. Despite this uneducated and false notion, birds actually have proven to be intelligent creatures who are able to learn, problem solve, form friendships, plan ahead, and replicate other animals' actions.

A new aspect I learned was that birds have flexible thinking skills. This was specifically illustrated in the "Multi-Access Box" experiment with a crow and a kea parrot. The two birds were observed in order to see how they solve problems differently. There were four distinct ways to access a nut inside of a box which includes pulling on a string, using a stick, rolling a ball, or opening a door. Both the birds were able to collect the nuts four separate times using all four approaches, thus demonstrating their flexible thinking skills and proving that they are advanced animals (16:53).

Furthermore, many research studies were conducted to learn more about bird intelligence, which sparked my interest. One in particular was called the "Delayed Exchange Test" experiment. It tested whether a bird named Rumo could wait for his favorite food, cheese, once given bread. When taught that he could exchange the bread for cheese after an allotted time, he sometimes dropped the bread to make waiting less tormenting. Yet, he still waited long periods of time so he could be rewarded with cheese. On the other hand, if he did not fancy the other food that was offered, he just ate the bread instead. Rumo was able to delay a response, plan ahead, and calculate a tradeoff in this experiment (40:50).

Birds who also lived in social groups were demonstrated to have an increase in intelligence and social behavior. This is due to the social pressures that result from living in a group. Researcher Valérie Dufour watched crow interactions and “found a [complex] social network...with a clear structure and close friendships” (29:17). As a result, she engineered an experiment with rooks to see if they could learn from watching each other. When half the rooks watched another rook pull on a rope to open a box with food, they too pulled the rope when it was their turn. The same thing occurred when the other half of the rooks watched a different rook open the box by pushing on a ball. The main takeaway was that the rooks replicated what they saw and learned to solve the puzzle. This is a high level of thinking and is actually called social learning.

The "Crow Funeral" experiment conducted by John Marzluff consisted of putting a decoy of a dead crow on the ground. Quickly after, cawing crows filled the surrounding trees. Brains scans indicated the memory centers were activated in crows and that this is possibly related to emotion (47:49). After listening to this, I made an immediate connection to the TIME article “Mourning.” when it mentioned that “with near ceremonial coordination, [the crows] land and surround the body, often in complete silence” (Kluger 53). Crows will actually summon other crows as well by using a particular call in order to pay their respects. Some crows even place sticks or grass next to or on top of the dead body as a memorial. These two instances of death rituals both prove that crows truly do have emotion as they empathize with their other fellow crows.

In addition, birds learn new things through playing. Specifically, kea birds “have a notorious urge to explore everything they see, and they want to play and explore the physical effects and consequences of their actions” (22:18). Their experiences with playing has allowed them to understand how to put one object inside of another, based on their varying sizes. As more time went on, the kea birds started to quickly realize what objects would fit in different sized tubes and what would not. They were able to transfer these new learned skills from one context to another as well. This again proves that a conscious process occurs and not solely instinctive behaviors.

Finally, another experiment was done by John Marzluff to test whether crows could recognize the face of a person who is a threat. It is common knowledge that crows do not like to be captured, even if they are not harmed. So, the researchers who captured them were wearing a mask. A few days later, Marzluff wore the same mask and walked around the campus where the crows lived. He noticed that the crows "scolded [him] with harsh calls that are indicative of a predator, and they gathered around [him]. They attracted others in, and they would even dive down at [him]” (46:52). The crows were communicating with each other that the masked man was dangerous. I also made a connection to the TIME article “Communication” at this point about dolphins having a complex vocabulary of language. Their “tail slaps against the water surface...conveys aggression or alerts a pod that it’s time to leave an area” (Kluger 78). Dolphins and birds both have rich and sophisticated languages, whether that is squawking or slapping, that proves their intelligence. Their languages allow them to communicate their locations, emotions, threats, and strategies. In total, the video “Bird Brains” helped me realize that birds are extremely intelligent creatures.

Kermit, a Kea parrot, is using a ball in order to obtain a nut in the “Multi-Access Box” experiment (19:05).