Bird Brain Documentary
- avtaylo2
- Apr 21, 2024
- 2 min read
Researchers
Bird Brain was a very informative documentary about birds and their intelligence. A number of prominent researchers were presented throughout: Christina Riehl, who researches the evolution of cooperative breeding in birds at Princeton University, Auguste von Bayern, who researchers the working of animal minds, and lastly John Marzluff, who studies how humans affect birds, particularly corvids at the University of Washington. John Marzluff can be considered a crow expert, so I will definitely research him more because I am interested in learning more about crows.
Standout Quotes
I learned lots about birds and their brains and how they are similar to us during the film, but two particular facts stood out to me. The first was about the brain of birds, and what makes them so remarkable. The documentary stated that "Bird brains may be tiny, but for their size they seem to contain more brain cells, or neurons, than many other animals" (13:18). This quotation shows that just because birds have small brains, that does not mean that they are less intelligent. A second fact that stood out to me was one that was discussing crows, my species of interest. While talking about animal social groups, the documentary said that "Crows are also good at negotiating complex sets of relationships, because they live in large groups" (28:06). Socializing actually helps to drive intelligence in crows, as they have to remember alliances and friendships, which I found so interesting.
Key Takeaways
Overall, I have learned to not underestimate a birds intelligence. For example, geese are able to understand hierarchies and make inferences based on those hierarchies. Additionally, I learned that birds may also have some types of emotions, but further research is needed on that. This can be compared to the "Intelligence" article written by Jeffery Kluger, and more specifically when he said that "A mere ape in our world may be a scholar in its own, and the low life of any beast may be a source of deep satisfaction for the beast itself". Humans should not underestimate animals culture and social life, because there is a large possibility that it has a meaning to them, just like how human culture does to us. Humans still don't know everything about animals, and there is much to uncover about if they can feel emotions, what type of feelings they have, and what friendships mean to them.
Hi Ava,
I found your response super thoughtful! I also loved the mention of how socialization is one the big driving factors behind their intelligence. I never knew birds could understand hierarchal behaviors and how nuanced they are, super interesting! Another thing I found interesting was your mention of crows and their intelligence being driven by socialization. It makes me wonder, what other factors are present in driving their intelligence, and how does it effect how they develop?
Hey, I enjoyed your response to the documentary! Especially where you talked about the size of the brains of the birds because when I heard that in the video I thought it was amazing. I never thought that birds who have such a small head and brain can contain way more brain cells or neurons than other animals. It makes me wonder what animals who have bigger brains then them are less intelligent then them!
I agree with you that we shouldn't underestimate birds' intelligence just because it is different from our own. When I watched the documentary I was surprised by the ways that birds have intelligence. One question I have is how do you think the understanding that birds are intelligent will change how we view birds, conserve them, etc? I think that if more people appreciated the intelligence that birds have we would have different conversations about conservation. - Aniket Panda