Just how clever birds?

Smart road to Rome www.thebeijingnews.com · 2007-9-2, 6: 30: 11 ·

Source: Beijing News

In Aesop's Fables, has seen a thirsty Ravens, it to drink the water in the pot, constantly will vote to pick out the stones into the tank, the stone number water high, final wishes.

From this fable, the bird is very clever, is at least some.

Grey parrots from creative Word

A scientific perspective, birds are smart or clever? existing textbooks mercilessly, Crow's clever exist only in the fable.

Scientists also think so, at least in writing a textbook think so. According to the anatomical knowledge, bird brain only have control of simple instinct acts of basal ganglia, the cerebral cortex. But as we become more and more frequently surprised to Crow, parrots and other birds have demonstrated extraordinary talent, which constantly challenged.

Examples: Crow's clever not limited to, the stoning of drinking water, but also be able to bend Wire feeding.

The same is a large jars, tins put a reference to a small metal ring, drums are delicious with pork. Eating is definitely eat directly, but fortunately there are still two wire set before, a root is straight and the other end has a hook. As expected, and soon it will eat the meat. So simple causal relationship to it, is a piece of cake.

However it is then the show's ability to some important, when only a straight wire, with the support of the floor, it bends the wire with feet became hooked.

Recognize the physical properties of the object, and the manufacture of tools, who will dare to say that it is not wise?

Crows have a good memory, it can hide 3 million seed, and after 6 months later to find out.

If the pool when there are other bird watching from the sidelines, it also pretend to leave, too will quietly back again to hide it again.

Trappings of not just African gray parrot Crow, not only wi

ll and human dialogue, appropriate use of words and numbers, but also have a certain sense of humor, but also to invent words, and taught other parrots!

Pigeons can remember 725 different visual mode, you can distinguish man-made objects and natural objects, and even share Ching Picasso and Monet's works.

Brains work differently

Such clear evidence that people had to be considered for these will only be twittering animals to evaluate again.

First of all need to be reconsidered in a bird-brain's Anatomy, while no mammals of the cerebral cortex, not so much with advanced cognitive abilities closely related groove back to the fold, but the birds seem to have your own understanding. Their high intelligence depends on basal core striatum, instead of the cerebral cortex. In other words, they also possess a high level of intelligence, but not necessarily in the way the human brain. This phenomenon is known as convergence, meaning that different types of animals to evolution the same capabilities, but in a different way, the underlying neural basis of difference.

If the birds are smart you can use the convergence of evolutionary theory to explain, the experts will bird brain Intelligence Center known as cortex's move was some far-fetched, I go my way, why not take your standard?

Go your own way of an example of a dolphin, a dolphin's clever is well known that they are in addition to the close relatives of humans and human Gorilla, chimpanzee, Gorilla, only be able to identify the mirror their own animals.

Every time it is used on the pigment in invisible places done mark, they are shouting to swim to the underwater mirror to check. Dolphin brain is not conferred on primates higher cognitive ability of frontal lobe, then look in the mirror of clever she come from? apparently another way.

To prove the existence of convergent evolution, don't just stare at those clever anim

als, such as flying flies in the body of evidence can also be found. These small insects like people can hear sound, but they do not have the inner ear of vertebrates, but to rely on at the top of the "audio Pard amplifier" — mechanical sensing cells. Unfortunately, both in capacity o¡¯ No wonder Nietzsche said: "mankind is not everything, every creature and his side-by-side in the same perfect stage. " Of course, we still can be very proud, because the clever way, we use is easily the best, but also do not forget that, like a bird flying in the skies free is always a dream of mankind.

□ Han Yin-Wen (Shanghai science writer)