Birds Have Brilliant Brains ..

[TAWhatley]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770


Birds have brilliant brains, say experts
By JULIE WHELDON, Science Correspondent

Last updated at 22:25pm on 6th November 2006

Reader comments (39)

Pigeon: In a controlled test pigeons were able to memorise up to 1,200 pictures

The insult of 'bird-brain' is generally applied to scatty people who cannot hold much in their heads.

But it seems this may be doing an injustice to our feathered friends.

Scientists have discovered that the common pigeon actually has an astonishingly good long-term memory.

In tests they found a single bird can memorise 1,200 pictures.

The team said that, despite clear physical differences between birds and other animals, there are important similarities in the way their memories work.

They therefore concluded that the processes that drive the way we store and retrieve memories appear to be largely the same throughout the animal world.

Anyone who has seen squirrels dig up nuts will know they have some long-term memory.

But to date no-one has actually challenged different species to see just how much they can learn.

The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), set out to do just this with two species - pigeons and baboons.

Each species was given tests in which they were shown a picture and then given a choice of two possible responses.

For example if shown a picture of a lamp they might then get shown a red and green key - one of which has been randomly selected by a computer as the 'correct' label for the image.

To train them, the birds were given a food reward if they correctly pecked the key that matched the image.

Baboons were given a similar test but had to push a button instead.

Both species were tested over the course of several years to see just how much they could remember.

To the amazement of the scientists from the Mediterranean Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences in Marseille, France, the pigeons were able to memorise up to 1,200 pictures and the correct responses.

Baboons performed much better with some managing to remember 5,000 successfully.

Despite the difference in the capacity of their memories, the researchers noted some key similarities in their reaction times and rate of forgetfulness.

'In our task the two species only differed in terms of their absolute long-term memory capacity,' they concluded.

Lead researcher Joel Fagot said the study provided important new information on how memory systems have evolved.

'Birds and monkeys differ considerably in physiology and evolutionary history,' he said.

'Despite millions of years of divergent evolution they demonstrate highly similar memory profiles.'

He concluded that the different paths species set out on hundreds of millions of years ago 'may have mainly changed memory capacities but have had little impact on basic memory processes and memory dynamics.'

The study is not the first to shed light on some of the remarkable abilities of pigeons.

Italian researchers have found they owe their sense of direction to 'odour maps' they make of areas they pass over.

Last year scientists also attempted to rate the intelligence of a whole range of birds.

They found crows, rooks, jays and ravens topped the lead for bird IQ - however the New World quail was crowned the dunce of the avian world.

[andinla]

I knew my Coo-Coo was smarter than the average bird...

[Lady Tarheel]

Terry, thanks. Now I know why pigeons will fly two blocks to meet Lewis going to their feeding area to feed them!

[mr squeaks]

HA! That report doesn't surprise me in the least!

Squeaks has been "educating" me since I found him!!

[TerriB]

Very cool!!! This just confirms what we all know - these birdies are smart!

[ken_sturrock]

The intelligence and pattern recognition of Pigeons has actually long been known. During World War II there was a concept for developing a guided missile using Pigeons as the "on board computer":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon

Another example of taking something beautiful and figuring out how to use it to kill.

-Ken

[ken_sturrock]

Yeah - no kidding.

There's a great book on this topic by Candace Savage:

http://www.amazon.com/Bird-Brains-In...e=UTF8&s=books

It focuses on corvids rather than columbids, but it's still a good read.

-Ken

[Avalona Birdy]

Hey, people have called me birdbrain for years, and I consider it a compliment every time!

Poor quail. I will admit that they are not the brightest, but button quail can become sweeeeeeet little pets.

[mr squeaks]

Originally Posted by Avalona Birdy

Hey, people have called me birdbrain for years, and I consider it a compliment every time!

Poor quail. I will admit that they are not the brightest, but button quail can become sweeeeeeet little pets.

Talk to Daryl (Pigeonmama)! She HAS button Quail she calls the "butt-butts!"
She lives in Maine (the NORTH) and her butt-butts are QUITE FOND of "Southern Fried Chicken" - a.k.a. Pidgey in Tulsa, OK (the SOUTH )

[Avalona Birdy]

Originally Posted by mr squeaks

Talk to Daryl (Pigeonmama)! She HAS button Quail she calls the "butt-butts!"
She lives in Maine (the NORTH) and her butt-butts are QUITE FOND of "Southern Fried Chicken" - a.k.a. Pidgey in Tulsa, OK (the SOUTH )

That's FUNNY! XD Butt-butts......I'll have to tell that one to my friend.

You would not believe how my best friend and I got started on button quail. We had a bunch of school "merits" with which we could buy things, and we up and decided that we wanted to buy an INCUBATOR and hatch eggs. We decided on quail eggs by looking on Ebay, then found a supplier down here. We took one look at those thumb-size eggs and our eyes became the SIZE OF DINNER PLATES. The lady GAVE us FIFTY eggs. We hatched about 13, and then a duckling got in and killed 7 of them. Then four died of natural causes......they couldn't keep their eyes open, so they wouldn't eat. We had two left, a black one and a white one. They were THE best pets. I have to admit, though, we used to put them inside toilet paper rolls and then blow on one end. The button quail would fly across the room. They never got hurt, of course. But they are both dead now....they got pretty old.

[Avalona Birdy]

Originally Posted by ken_sturrock

The intelligence and pattern recognition of Pigeons has actually long been known. During World War II there was a concept for developing a guided missile using Pigeons as the "on board computer":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon

Another example of taking something beautiful and figuring out how to use it to kill.

-Ken

Hey! That's smart, but wouldn't it kill the poor little birdie? I can think of a lot better uses for pigeons than making them guide missiles. >.>