New Study May Explain Why Not All Birds Are Actually Bird-Brained

Birds' brains are not well known. Despite the small size of their noggins, parrots and corvids are able to solve puzzles.

Studies have shown that the brains of songbirds and parrots have a lot of the same brain cells as monkeys.

The idea that cognitive performance is related to an animal's total number of neurons is intuitive.

A recent comparison of apes, corvids, and pigeons found that total neuron numbers are not a good indicator of cognitive power.

Some studies do not agree. The pallium is a part of the bird forebrain that has a lot of neurons.

What numbers should we count? What is the relative number of neurons? Is it possible for a bird to be smart if it's big-bodied? Is it all about the size of their brain?

A group of researchers think it is a compromise.

The authors estimated the number of neurons in the palliums of birds. They compared the numbers to innovative ways for birds to use food.

Birds with higher numbers of neurons in their pallium were more likely to be innovative.

There was less activity in the brain when there were more pallium neurons.

The authors conclude that if a bird has a disproportionately large number of neurons in a big chunk of their forebrain, it should produce a brain that is larger in absolute terms and relative to its body size.

According to the findings, bird intelligence depends on a disproportionate allocation of brain cells.

The authors argue that their findings support the idea that intelligence is dependent on the total number of neurons and the way they connect.

Intelligence is more difficult to measure than how densely packed the cells are.

The authors think bird intelligence has to do with how networks in the brain are controlled.

The authors agree with the idea that animals with large brains are not necessarily the most intelligent.

When researchers compared the development of all the bird species, they found that birds with larger numbers of neurons in their pallium tend to have slower development.

The extra phase of brain development after an egg hatch may be needed for bird intelligence.

The evolution of intelligence may be influenced by the amount of time a young bird spends in the nest.

Larger species of crows and parrots are known for their intelligence and spend more time in the nest.

Human development can be compared to that of Chimpanzees or bonobo. We take a long time to grow up because our brains are three times larger than other primate's.

According to recent brain research, human intelligence is superior to other primate intelligence because our brains are more flexible and have greater synergy.

It could be the same for birds as well.

Scientists still don't know what makes some animals smarter than others. It might be a good idea to stop ridiculing bird brains until we know more.

The study was published in nature ecology and evolution.