A Look At Birds' Brains
BY LAURELLA DESBOROUGH
Copyright Laurella Desbrough (eclectusbreeder.com).
All rights reserved by the author.
Considering the Brains of
Birds
Do you ever think about the
phrase, "bird brain?" When we
look at birds, from the small
finches to the large macaws, we
are not looking at a very large
brain case (or skull). In the
past, man has viewed the avian
species as not having much in
the way of brains. However, the
intelligence of birds has amazed
us, especially since the
research work of Dr. Irene
Pepperberg with Alex the African
grey that talks and makes sense
out of what he says. Those of us
who keep parrots are often
surprised when parrots speak to
us and definitely seem to be
communicating intelligently with
the words they are using. Often
the situation is such that we
are sure they know exactly what
they are saying.
When we consider the size of the
brain, we might wonder how much
it can possibly contain because
it is so small. Now that we
humans live in the age of the
computer and are familiar with
microchips, we should no longer
be astounded by the amount of
information held in a bird's
brain, whatever the size.
Apparently, size is only one
factor to consider.
On Page 30 of the January, 1998
issue of the journal,
Scientific American, a brief
article appears entitled "Bird
Brains." The article indicates
that some birds' brains within
the same species are larger than
other birds' brains. Doctoral
student Tony Tramontin at the
University of Washington,
working in collaboration with
psychology and zoology
professors, studied the growth
of brain regions related to
singing in white-crowned
sparrows. He found that social
cues controlled the development
of these brain regions.
Previously, it was thought that
the lengthening days and
hormonal changes brought about
changes in these birds' brains.
But Tramontin found that in male
birds living with females, the
brain regions grew 15 to 20
percent larger than they did in
male birds living alone or with
other males. It is the first
observation of socially induced
changes in the avian forebrain.
Certainly this gives us food for
thought about the importance of
the early same-species
socialization of our parrots,
and especially of our finches
and softbills. It is often
disturbing to bird breeders to
place domestically bred birds
together in hopes of having a
breeding pair only to discover
that the male bird has no
interest in a female of his
species or, even worse, is
openly hostile to her. A little
research on the history of these
problem birds often reveals that
there was little or no early
same-species socialization
experienced by the male.
The problem seems less obvious
in female parrots, but that may
only appear to be the case. In
psittacine species where
precopulatory behavior includes
solicitation by the female as a
part of process, some females
may not exhibit this behavior.
Then the normal male bird
seeking to mate with the female
may abandon the pairing activity
or attack the female. There is
still much to be learned about
exotic species behavior,
including understanding the
importance of cues exhibited by
males and females in the mating
process and doing a lot more
observing of our birds.
A remarkable book has been
written entitled, "The Minds of
Birds." The author, Alexander F.
Skutch, is an ornithologist who
has studied birds for more than
60 years. He has written an
astonishing book derived from
his study of birds in the
tropics and in the temperate
zone. In 17 chapters, he covers
topics including Recognition of
Individuals, Memory and
Anticipation, Social Life,
Emotions, Play, Counting and
Timing, Tool Using, Aesthetic
Sense, Dissimulation, Mental
Conflicts, Intelligent Birds,
Apparently Stupid Behavior,
Freedom and Altruism, The Brain
and Senses, Homing and
Migration, and The Mind of a
Parrot. He starts by discussing
the commonly held belief that
birds are unintelligent. By the
time you are well into this
book, you will most probably
change your mind about the minds
of birds!
Some of the indications that
birds are intelligent include
the fact that many bird species
in the wild have the ability to
recognize members of their own
species as individuals and,
amazingly, also to recognize
familiar humans even after a
long absence. (Keep in mind,
these are birds in the wild, not
pets.) These wild birds have
good memories and give evidence
of thinking ahead to solve
problems. Skutch indicates that
of all species, only humans take
more elaborate care of their
offspring than most birds do.
Few animals of any kind live in
the closely united family groups
like those of cooperatively
breeding birds. Wild birds
engage in very diverse play
activities and give evidence of
enjoyment. Some birds are known
to use tools and the birds
create aesthetically pleasing
constructions. The journeys of
migrant species over thousands
of miles gives evidence of
memory and navigational skills.
This book is full of extremely
interesting material as the
following quote shows: "To learn
how birds recognize people,
observers sometimes try to
deceive them by unfamiliar
attire. The German ornithologist
Oskar Heinroth had a pheasant
who courted him and fought his
wife as a rival. When the couple
exchanged clothes, the bird
started to attack Herr Heinroth
in his wife's dress, stopped,
scrutinized their faces, then
flew at Frau Heinroth in
trousers. When Katarina Heinroth
and her sister exchanged
garments, the pheasant still
distinguished his 'enemy.' "
There is so much wonderful
information about avian species
that I consider this book to be
one of the most valuable in my
library. Copyrighted in 1996,
The Minds of Birds is
available through the Trade
Books Department at Texas A & M
University for $19.95 plus $3
shipping and handing. (Texas
residents pay sales tax.) For
more information, call (409)
845-8681, fax (409) 862-7417 or
e-mail bclark@unix.tamu.edu. It
is available in cloth (ISBN
0-89096-671-0) or paperback
(ISBN 0-89096-759-8).
