I swear the crows around here teach their kids about traffic lights, railway signals and metro automatic messages.
There are a number of complicated roundabout/junctions around that they all seem to read too well to simply be playing it by rote or ear. Since they seem to be well aware of, say, weather-related road closure signage and the like.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Jul 28th 2020 at 12:42:37 PM
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Humans are directly interacting with them. Parrots are comunicative. They imitate the sounds of what is trying to comunicate with them.
Last year I found a magpie fledgling near my place; getting near it showed its parents were paying it a close eye, but, after getting between the chick and a dog, and getting into the road crossing to scare it back into the sidewalk and stop cars from running over it, the parents just stopped cawing whenever I got near their chick. They learned I was trying to help and thus wasn't a threat.
Crows are pretty smart. On the other hand, they also have very large brains for a bird. Their brain to body mass ratio is nearly the same as that for a chimp. They show very advanced abilities to solve certain types of problems (mostly spatial puzzles involving food or predators). Outside of that, though, I don't think they demonstrate the wide range and flexibility of social and other behaviors that the more advanced mammals do. In particular, they lack the brain mass to store information about large numbers of unique individuals. The birds with the largest brains and most complex behaviors (crows and parrots) live in small groups, and tend not to socialize beyond them (in contrast to, say, whales, each of whom may be acquainted with the unique sound signature of every other whale of their species on the planet, not just that of their own pod).
Here's a really nice review
of some of the research comparing corvids to apes.
A nice review
of the research relating bird brain size to sociality.
Fascinatingly, the brains of birds show a high degree of seasonal plasticity (flexibility of function that varies by season) and there is some evidence that they develop greater social intelligence during that time of the year when the form large flocks, or engage in cooperative breeding, and then their brains revert to other functions (food seeking, etc) at other times of the year. Imagine an alien whose sense of self and other-identity varies over time. They could be human-like during one part of their life cycle, and very different at other times.
I seem to remember a sci-fi story along those lines, but I cant remember the title. A team of human anthropologists go to live among a tribe of friendly, technologically primitive aliens, only to discover that they turn violent and feral during their mating season. Anyone know the story?
I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.Brain to body ratio is a flawed concept, when neural density is a thing. Bird brains are just more tightly packed together, and wired in a different way than mammalian brains to a degree. And going around saying "mammals are more advanced than birds", eh, is just bad understanding of evolution. Scala Naturae is outdated after all.
Remember, elephant brains have half as many neurons as human brains, despite being roughly 4 times more massive.
(Note though that in the human brain most cells are glia, not neurons. There is certainly the theory out there that the number of glial cells may be important for sapience)
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanIn any brain, and the number increases as the brain size increases by sheer square-cube law, as they are needed to ensure basic neuron function. Astrocytes are basically a life support system for neurons, down to feeding them. Our astrocytes work harder than those of mice.
But yeah, active glia improves neuron function. Our magnified brain usage is not due to it being large and densily packed, but also from it working hard on a cellular level. There is a reason behind it eating so much, so to speak.
It's amazing how hardy these things can be. I guess that's the benefit of living on the border between biology and chemistry.
Hope shines brightest in the darkest timesNational Geographic article on removing dams from rivers to restore migratory fish.
Edited by eagleoftheninth on Aug 17th 2020 at 7:20:56 AM
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.(Yo dawg, I heard you like marine reptiles...)
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.

how environmentally healthy?
Edited by alekos23 on Jul 28th 2020 at 3:30:38 PM