Not a lot about bird brains in general, instead discussion of some informal experimentation with urban crows.<p>I volunteer at a raptor conservation centre and have been impressed by the behaviours of the different birds, and the degree of mentation that is going on (or not). The smartest birds I met there were Caracaras [0] which could be trained to do various tricks, including carrying objects from one place to another, and could solve simple puzzles. Perhaps surprisingly, given their reputation for being wise, owls were some of the least intelligent, partly because their skulls have so much space occupied by their eyes compared with diurnal birds.<p>[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracara_(genus)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracara_(genus)</a>
Out in California, living near massive crow populations is a plus, because they terrorize the hell out of the hawks would otherwise mercilessly pick off your backyard chickens. It's truly impressive stuff, watching the crows coordinate comms and attacks from massive distances over a single hawk in the area.
The quote at the end from Eiseley is more interesting than it sounds: <a href="https://www.101bananas.com/library2/eiseley1.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.101bananas.com/library2/eiseley1.html</a> It's about a crow being terrified to nearly fly into Eiseley's head on an extremely foggy day (where you couldn't see the ground), and Eiseley speculating that the crow inferred that Eiseley, uniquely among humans, had somehow learned to walk in the sky, and was scared of him ever after.
I raise geese. Had no idea, before I started, how interesting and varied their behaviors are.<p>They are very intelligent, it seems like a lot of their brainpower goes toward their social interactions.<p>Of course, individually they have distinct personalities, they have a group dynamic, and they also make specific friendships (apart from their mating partners).<p>Also their relationship with me and other people that care for them — they know and behave differently according to who’s around.<p>I’m documenting my observations on one breed called the cotton patch goose [1]. At some point I’ll put together a more comprehensive report.<p>1. <a href="https://hedgerider.substack.com/p/the-cotton-patch-goose" rel="nofollow">https://hedgerider.substack.com/p/the-cotton-patch-goose</a>
Jennifer Ackerman's The Genius of Birds is a great read on this subject.<p><a href="https://www.jenniferackermanauthor.com/genius-ofbirds" rel="nofollow">https://www.jenniferackermanauthor.com/genius-ofbirds</a>
May I suggest the book "Mind of the Raven" by Bernd Heinrich. Excellently written and extremely interesting. He has spent a life time studying animal behavior in particular Corvidae.<p>"Bernd Heinrich is a biologist and author of numerous books on the natural world. He lives in Richmond, VT, and in a cabin in the forests of western Maine."<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Raven-Investigations-Adventures-Wolf-Birds/dp/0061136050" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Raven-Investigations-Adventures-...</a>
New Zealand Kea are notoriously smart - they can work together to solve problems, and even seem to have something akin to laughter:<p><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/90639503/kea-are-smarter-and-more-playful-than-previously-thought-research-shows" rel="nofollow">https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/90639503/kea-are-smarter...</a>
Disappointing to see the various crow garbage vending machines not pan out. I wonder of it's actually impossible or if it's just been poorly executed.