Bird Brain

Aired on PBS’s NOVA series, Bird Brain persuasively demonstrates that birds are intelligent. Through various experiments and observations, scientists from Austria, England, the United States, France, and New Zealand show that birds can infer, problem solve, repeat rewarding behavior, and be adaptive. Not surprisingly, the crow family--made up of ravens, jays, jackdaws, and crows--plus the many species of parrots have the largest brains among birds. But scientists have also learned that even small birds have more neurons than other mammals with larger brains. While experts agree that many bird activities--such as flying, coordinating patterns of flight, and egg nesting--are instinctive, they now hypothesize that birds may act more like humans than we thought. Several fascinating experiments involving New Caledonian crows and Kea parrots found in New Zealand illustrate that these birds will delay gratification for a preferred food, work together to achieve a goal, and manipulate tools such as a ball, stick, and string to grab food. Kea parrots even like to play by stacking cups, just as a child would do. And a jackdaw could watch and correctly read a scientist’s eye and facial movements to discover which cup the food was hiding beneath. Since crows and parrots live in groups, scientists hypothesize that social hierarchies enable these birds to handle more complex sets of relationships, which can increase intelligence. A fascinating documentary with touches of humor, this beautifully-lensed film is highly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (T. Root)