I don't know about this. Liberals can do tricks too - but no one would conclude that they're as bright as apes...
June 14, 2016
Bird brains? No, parrots are just as bright as apes!
Birds found to have more brain cells despite organ being much smaller
Birds have more brain cells than apes, despite having smaller brains
Crows and parrots have shown skills such as being able to use tools
Their other talents include being able to recognise themselves in a mirror
By COLIN FERNANDEZ, SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 19:07 EST, 13 June 2016 | UPDATED: 03:11 EST, 14 June 2016
For years birds were accused of being feather brained.
But now scientists have found they are not only as clever as apes, but have more brain cells despite much tinier brains.
Crows and parrots have shown remarkable skills such as being able to use tools, recognise themselves in a mirror, and in the case of parrots, learn to speak words.
The mystery of how they manage these intellectual feats with such small brains has been puzzling scientists for years,
But researchers have now discovered that birds have far more brain cells packed into their tiny skulls than apes, monkeys and other mamals whose brains weigh many times more.
The scientists from Charles University in Prague measured the numbers of brain cells in 32 different bird species, including crows, parrots, emus and owls.
And they found the average bird's brain had twice as many brain cells per gram as the average mammal.
Using a device called an Isotropic Fractionator, which is able to count neurons, the researchers counted the brain cells of different birds – and found that birds were the winners in the brain department.
For example, a tiny goldcrest, the researchers found, despite weighing nine times less than a mouse, has 2.3 times more brain cells.
But the heavyweight thinkers in the bird kingdom are crows and parrots.
A raven's brain, for instance weighs, 10.2 grams but has 1.2billlion brain cells. By comparison, a capuchin monkey's brain weighs four times as much, at 39.18 grams, but it only has 1.1billion neurons.
The authors write said they had uncovered 'a straightforward solution to the puzzle: brains of songbirds and parrots contain very large numbers of neurons, at neuronal densities considerably exceeding those found in mammals'.
They add: 'Because these 'extra' neurons are predominantly located in the forebrain, large parrots and corvids have the same or greater forebrain neuron counts as monkeys with much larger brains.'
Just having a greater number of brain cells is only one facet of the superiority of the bird's brain.
By packing the neurons in tighter, it may also speed up how fast they can process information, the researchers said, and 'may further enhance cognitive abilities of these birds.'
The authors writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said that in many respects birds are now seen as the intellectual rivals of chimps, gorillas and orang-utans.
They write: 'Corvids [crows and ravens] and parrots appear to be cognitively superior to other birds, rivalling great apes in many psychological domains.
'They manufacture and use tools, solve problems insightfully, make inferences about causal mechanisms, recognize themselves in a mirror, plan for future needs, and use their own experience to anticipate future behavior of conspecifics [those of their own species] or even humans, to mention just a few striking abilities.
'In addition, parrots and songbirds (including corvids) share with humans and a few other animal groups a rare capacity for vocal learning, and parrots can learn words and use them to communicate with humans.'
But the authors add: 'However, bird brains are small and the computational mechanisms enabling corvids and parrots to achieve ape-like intelligence with much smaller brains remain unclear'.
Birds that are less intelligent than crows and parrots, such as the emu, the red junglefowl - the wild ancestor of the chicken- and the pigeon have lower densities of brain cells.
It seems that a big factor for birds to become more intelligent is singing complex songs.
A songbird such as the great tit has a brain 50 times smaller than that of a red junglefowl – but roughly the same number of brain neurons, the authors write.
But even these, less bright birds, have densities of brain cells 'comparable to those observed in the primate cortex'.
Despite not singing tunefully, crows and raven's brains have brains that appear to be 'scaled up' versions of the complex brain structures seen in songbirds – suggesting that their ancestors may have sung more than they do today.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3640017/Bird-brains-No-parrots-just-bright-apes-Birds-brain-cells-despite-organ-smaller.html
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