Category: Birds

Anders Brodin, Professor of Theoretical Ecology Photo: Peter Frodin

Opportunism reveals the true intelligence of titmice

Is smartness linked to the size of the brain? Larger organisms usually have larger brains, but are they really more advanced? Is a wood pigeon smarter than a chaffinch? Through the ages, birds have been associated with both stupidity, as in “birdbrain”, and wisdom, as in “wise as an owl”....

Advanced eyes cannot detect more shades of colour

Birds have one of the most impressive vision systems in the animal world. But despite their advanced retina, birds are not significantly better than humans at determining different shades of similar colours. Few animal groups show such a great variety in colour as the birds’ plumage. Many studies have shown...