Corvids are a brilliant group of birds that have developed and evolved significantly. Their brain size ranges from 5-20 grams, depending on the type, and they exhibit cognitive abilities like those of great apes, which have a brain size of approximately 400 grams. These birds portray extreme levels of intelligence, and their ability to adapt to their surroundings is impressive as they are relatively tiny. While global effects such as pollution can ruin the lives of several species, corvids can adapt to their environment and thrive.
In the publication “Why Birds Are So Smart,” Dr. Gunturkun and colleagues explore the significant intelligence behind corvids and parrots. Despite their small brains, the measure of their intelligence can be due to a variety of reasons, including a high number of pallial neurons, their pallial area being similar to a human’s prefrontal cortex, dense dopaminergic innervation, and dynamic memory foundations. The pallium is explained as the upper region of the cerebrum that contains structures such as the pallial amygdala and hippocampus. The pallial neurons are beneficial for strong, flexible cognition and are the most significant factors of complex cognition. These neurons are also crucial as they are the driving cause for determining the similarity between the cognition of birds and primates. The dense dopaminergic innervation in the pallium helps to connect to the premotor structures of the pallium. Overall, the research explores several perspectives to demonstrate that birds can achieve complex cognition through their evolved neural features.
In specific, the authors provide significant evidence to support corvid intelligence through the comparative studies they utilize. They highlight the advanced cognitive abilities of corvids and compare them to those of great apes. In terms of task performance, corvids demonstrate exceptional capabilities in problem-solving and planning. They show advanced reasoning skills as they can solve several puzzles of life. Their memory and future planning strategies can help them utilize events from the past to plan for the future. Additionally, they demonstrate extensive social intelligence and can understand each other very well. They can also understand other animals based on how they express themselves. This ties into their complex communication system, which includes an extremely diverse range of vocals. They use context-specific sounds and can portray exactly what they want through these sounds.
The extent of intelligence that corvids portray leads to the question of how this intelligence can be altered depending on the environment these birds are in, specifically in urban areas. Urbanization leads to an increase in human impact and increased pollution. The publication “Corvids in Urban Environments: A Systematic Global Literature Review,” by Dr. Benmazouz and colleagues, addresses the effects of urbanization on corvids and how these birds are great models to understand these effects. This publication demonstrates the population trends of corvids within urban areas and how these have higher breeding success than those in a rural environment. Additionally, researchers show how corvids can adapt to these urban areas and shift their diets to fit a human-altered environment. This only amplifies the significance of their intelligence and how crucial it is to their lives, along with society. A significant issue within urban areas is pollution, as it affects every species in the area. The results show that 72.2% of the articles demonstrated positive effects of urbanization, which shows an increase in population rates, and 17.1% reported negative effects, which shows a decrease in population. Corvids showed an overall ability to adapt to pollution and change their behavioral needs to cope with urban stressors. While corvids are demonstrated to thrive in these urban settings, the publication does address how pollution can affect their health.
References:
Benmazouz, I., Jokimäki, J., Lengyel, S., Juhász, L., Kaisanlahti-Jokimäki, M.-L., Kardos, G., Paládi, P., & Kövér, L. (2021). Corvids in Urban Environments: A Systematic Global Literature Review. Animals, 11(11), 3226. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113226
Onur Güntürkün, Pusch, R., & Rose, J. (2023). Why birds are smart. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.11.002
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