Wandering Aimlessly
Bird Brains
by Phil Burkhouse
One of the sayings often used to describe someone who does not eat very much is: “You eat like a bird.” In reality birds, for their size, consume a huge amount of food daily. If humans did eat like a bird, we would be grotesquely overweight in a very short time.
Another saying in use is: “He’s a bird brain.” This statement is meant to be derogatory and indicate someone is quite stupid. As with the first statement, scientists are finding out this statement is also misleading; birds are far more intelligent than once believed.
Scientists are discovering birds are bright, some much brighter than others, and are capable of learning. Birds tested in problem solving situations have stunned scientists with their capacity to reason and even to cooperate to achieve a desired goal. One study found four birds learned to work as a team, each pulling an individual string simultaneously, to release food.