Birdbrains

Although I’ve spent the majority of my adult life swearing off pets, in December I broke down and officially became a pet owner. An avid birder for the past few years, I decided birds would be a nice addition to the house. I love watching them and listening to their calls, and they’re pretty light on maintenance, so I took the plunge and bought a pair of lovebirds.

They’re beautiful. I don’t know their sex (DNA required), so I gave them boy names. Tuukka and André make a lovely pair (we are big supporters of gay marriage). They are named for two of my favorite NHL goalies: Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins) and Mark-André Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins) and I can tell you, for a pair of lovebirds, they certainly battle like a couple of hockey players.

I’ve spent considerable time training them over the past few months and they’re finally to the point where they no longer remove a hunk of my skin when I pick them up, which is a big improvement. They’ve learned how to return to their cage on my signal, which they accomplish by running up a ladder (hilarious), and they are now content to sit on my shoulder and watch TV (they seem to enjoy the NHL).

They are very smart. Lovebirds are basically miniature parrots, which are known for their intelligence. But it amazes me that a brain that small can function so efficiently; especially since they lack the complexity of human brains. So I did a little research to get a feel for what makes up a bird brain.

Bird brains contain many of the same structures as our brains. As in human brains, their medulla controls basic bodily functions: heart rate, blood pressure, and respirations. Like us, they have an optic lobe, but theirs is more developed than other vertebrates, since they rely strongly on vision. Their cerebellum, like ours, controls coordination and balance, but again, tends to be large, since it must coordinate the muscles involved in flight. And their cerebrum contains lobes, which tend to be larger in parrots and crows, compared to other birds. These lobes enable parrots and crows to be very adept with their beaks, which they use to manipulate objects. Parrots are also pretty agile with their tongues, a skill my lovebirds enjoy showing off by spitting shells out of their cage (which I’m pretty sure they do just to annoy me).

Tuukka and André have distinct personalities. Tuukka tends to be more aggressive and has been harder to tame than André. Tuukka entertains himself by shooting me the evil eye and pooing on my shoulder, while André is content to hang out and nibble on my earring. Aggression in humans is controlled by the amygdala, which causes it, and the hypothalamus, which regulates it via receptors that interact with the neurotransmitters serotonin and vasopressin. Bird brains contain both structures, so I wonder if it’s the same for them. If so, I’ll have to see about getting Tuukka some serotonin supplements…

It was once believed that the three capacities separating humans from other animals were bipedalism, language, and tool use. Although we are the only obligatory bipedal primates, language and tool use present a vaguer division. 

Studies among chimps and gorillas have shown they have the capacity for language, although at a more rudimentary level, and many animals communicate via distinct calls, which some consider a form of language.

The copycat speech of parrots used to be considered simple mimicry, but new studies have shown that parrots can actually construct meaningful statements, count, and even understand the concept of zero. Alex, a famous parrot who was the subject of experiments in avian intelligence, shocked his assessors when he answered “none” when asked how many blue keys were among a group of green and red. He was right!

As for tool use, it is now well documented among the animal kingdom and it just so happens some of these animals are birds.

The woodpecker finch, found among the rocky landscapes of the Galapagos Islands, uses twigs to extract insects from the insides of trees. But he doesn’t just use any old twig. He chooses an appropriate stick and trims it to the proper size before using it as a miniature pry bar to dig for bugs hidden within the bark. Crows show remarkable talent when it comes to constructing tools. They not only make tools, but can preplan and problem solve -  which is more than some humans can accomplish… And I’ve watched my birds use their beaks to hoist objects out of their way. They’re not only smart little suckers but strong, to boot!

And I’m convinced my lovebirds dream. Every now and then, in the still of the night, one of the birds will utter a blood-curdling “CHIRP!!” before settling back to sleep. What is he seeing in his little bird nightmare? A pouncing cat? My menacing hand reaching into his cage? What frightening images do their little brains conjure?

Birds and primates parted evolutionary ways over 280 million years ago and as we evolved along our separate paths, so too did our brains. As humans, we may be intelligent, but we certainly don’t own it. Pigeons can memorize over seven hundred different visual patterns. Scrub Jays exhibit episodic memory. Owls learn the many night sounds that lead them to meals. And African grey parrots can understand numerical concepts – a skill once thought to be uniquely human.

So the next time someone refers to you as a “birdbrain,” take it as a compliment. Birds are pretty darn smart.

Think you're intelligent? Check out this crow...

And here's a good read on the subject (although I believe she borrowed my title...).