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Birds Not So Stupid After All
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 2-22-2007 | Roger Highfield

Posted on 02/21/2007 6:56:40 PM PST by blam

Birds not so stupid after all

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 1:58am GMT 22/02/2007

Birds have emerged as strong challengers to chimpanzees and dolphins for the title of our smartest rivals in the animal world, biologists at Cambridge University have concluded.

Planning and worrying about the future has always been considered an exclusively human activity, but now at least one species of bird has also been found to plan.

"This is the first evidence that an animal can plan for the future," said Prof Nicky Clayton, who led the research team.

According to her findings, published in the journal Nature, western scrub-jays will store food items they believe will be in short supply in the future.

"Clearly the notion of bird-brained is no longer warranted," she said.

Prof Clayton, Prof Tony Dickinson, Caroline Raby and Dean Alexis carried out tests on eight scrub jays every morning, where they denied them their food. The birds were placed in two different compartments on alternate mornings for six days.

In one compartment they were always given breakfast and in the other they were not. After training the birds were unexpectedly given pine nuts suitable for hoarding in the evening.

In anticipation of a morning without breakfast, the scrub-jays consistently hid food in the ''no breakfast" compartment rather than the ''breakfast" compartment, demonstrating an understanding of their future needs. In a similar experiment, the scrub-jays were given either dog food in one compartment or peanuts in a second compartment for breakfast. When they were allowed to store either food where they liked in the evenings, they hoarded peanuts in the dog food compartment and vice versa.

Prof Clayton said: "The western scrub-jays demonstrate behaviour that shows they are concerned both about guarding against food shortages and maximising the variety of their diets in the future. It suggests they have advanced thought processes as they have a sophisticated concept of past, present and future."


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: birds; dolphins; smartest; stupid
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To: MHGinTN
The Walnut tree is the Blue Jay nursery now, so my other two cats are terrorized in the yard during nesting time.

LOL. One of the funniest things I ever saw was our mutt from the shelter (The best dog I ever had, BTW) going after birds. She had a lot of hound in her and went after any critter that wondered into our yard.

We only had her for a few weeks when one day she went after a Blue Jay feeding in the yard. As she chased that Jay one way, the 'significant other' Jay swooped down and rammed her in the back of her head. She turned and went after that one, and Jay # 1 returned and hit her from behind. On and on it went and the poor dog got madder and madder each time she got smacked in the back of her head by these tag-team birds. The birds could have left anytime they chose. They were just having fun driving the dog nuts.

This went on for about 20 minutes and I was sitting on the porch in stitches watching. No kidding, I had tears running down my face I was laughing so hard. I wish I had had a video camera to record it. The dog finally gave up and returned in total defeat, (and she knew it) and that was the last she ever chased birds.

Rabbits, moles and chipmunks, on the other hand, were never safe when she was out, but birds were off her list.

Smart Dog --- even Smarter Birds. ;~))

101 posted on 02/22/2007 9:20:47 PM PST by Ditto
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To: Ditto
I love it! And I've seen something similar with my cats.

I'm gonna post a thread soon in which folks can relate anecdotal stories that perhaps reflect the 'einstein' of a species phenomenon. I want every single example folks can remember. I'm going to compile all I can find, starting with that thread. I love this stuff!

102 posted on 02/22/2007 9:26:34 PM PST by MHGinTN (If you've had life support. Promote life support for others.)
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To: B4Ranch

We bring in all the feeders at night, put antibacterial soap in them, fill them with boiling water, shake them up and let them sit.

Then we rinse them totally, until the well water runs clear in them. We fill them with a mix of 1 quart water 1 cup sugar (1:4 ratio of sugar to water). Each feeder holds about 2 cups, so we make two quarts.

It's a lot of sugar, and a fair amount of work till you get a routine, but they do very well on this. We've done a fair amount of reading on hummingbirds, and they do eat protein (the little bugs in and around the feeder and in the trees), and they drink dew and rainwater. We do leave a water dish out for them, but I have read that it isn't necessary, they don't get dehydrated with the nectar like humans or other mammals would. I don't know if that's true, so I just stick to the 1 to 4 ratio.

We also do not color the nectar. Not necessary. Toward the later, hotter part of the summer, they finish off the nectar in the afternoon, so we sometimes fill them twice a day. The feeders always need to be thoroughly cleaned each day, though.


103 posted on 02/22/2007 9:30:43 PM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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We had free-range yard chickens, and they trained the yard dog (which we got as a puppy) not to chase them, and to let them eat out of his dish. Actually, the rooster did most of the training. Solid, well-aimed peck on the top of the head to the little guy, and even though he grew up huge, he left them alone.

Animals are totally amazing. Really bright, for "dumb" animals.


104 posted on 02/22/2007 9:37:05 PM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Judith Anne

My wife will be glad to know about this. Thank you


105 posted on 02/22/2007 9:47:10 PM PST by B4Ranch (You're in America now. Here we speak English.)
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To: Judith Anne
Do you have problems with bees and hornets? .

The last time I tried a hummingbird feeder, all I got was insects --- swarm type visits. But I hung some flowers pots after that and would have hummingbirds visit along with the occasional bee.

106 posted on 02/22/2007 9:48:59 PM PST by Ditto
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To: Judith Anne
My chickens got to run loose for a while. One of the hens got a nasty cut so I brought her into the house until it healed. I put her in a cat carrier in the living room for a few weeks while she got a good look at life in the house. When she perked up, I let her back out into the yard.

Now is was spring and I would prop the doors open to let the breeze blow through the house. The cats had gotten impatient and torn a hole in the screen door so they could come in and eat. Soon, the hen decided she wanted to come in and have some of the cat's food, too. She would poke her head in to see if the coast was clear. Then you would hear the tap-tap-tap of her claws on the bare floor. She would be pecking at the kitty bowl as fast as she could. She loved cat food!

107 posted on 02/22/2007 10:10:03 PM PST by myprecious
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To: myprecious

Chickens LOVE meat, cat and dog food of any kind. Ours ate small frogs, lizards, little garter snakes, anything they could catch. I've always thought that if they were as big as swans, we'd be lunch. Chickens really enjoy raw meat, cooked meat, whatever.


108 posted on 02/22/2007 10:17:56 PM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Ditto

No, we have a few of them, but not too many hornets or bees. There are a LOT of flowers, so maybe that's the reason.


109 posted on 02/22/2007 10:19:33 PM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: B4Ranch

You're welcome. ;-D


110 posted on 02/22/2007 10:20:33 PM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: Beagle8U

"Well, except the ones in California that tend to play with their nuts rather than store them."

Guys are the same everywhere.


111 posted on 02/22/2007 10:24:53 PM PST by toldyou (TEAM BIRKHEAD)
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To: Judith Anne

My hens know when I come out to the pen, they are in for a treat. My husband feeds them the daily scratch - but I have leftovers, Frito crumbs, something special. They catch sight of me and start dancing!


112 posted on 02/22/2007 10:40:49 PM PST by myprecious
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To: Dysart

I have recently got into birdfeeders and finding what food each bird prefers. (I had no idea the Mockingbird likes peanut butter, as you say.) The one/ones I feed love apples.

A few weeks ago I purchased a device that hooks onto a branch and has three spikes extending from it. I cut an apple in half and thread it on a spike. Between 12 noon and 2 pm every day my visitor comes to eat...I'm surprised at the voracious appetite that bird has!


113 posted on 02/22/2007 10:42:20 PM PST by toldyou (TEAM BIRKHEAD)
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To: PUGACHEV

Thanks for the url. It's a little scary!


114 posted on 02/22/2007 10:45:14 PM PST by skr (Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit. -- Ronald Reagan)
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To: MHGinTN

What nice stories!


115 posted on 02/22/2007 10:56:41 PM PST by toldyou (TEAM BIRKHEAD)
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To: Ditto

LOL!


116 posted on 02/22/2007 11:07:23 PM PST by toldyou (TEAM BIRKHEAD)
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To: blam
Now I have got an unusually dense woodpecker in the area who apparently has decided that our home outside Sacramento is an incredible 60-ft wide, 25-ft high tree without leaves. He will grab onto whatever he can for a foothold and try to peck through the siding until we chase him away. He has pecked the paint off the siding near the peak of the roof over several square feet.

Does anybody have an idea for a non-lethal solution for this or am I going to have to spend $160,000 to send this bird to MIT for an undergrad engineering education so he can figure this out for himself?

117 posted on 02/22/2007 11:21:53 PM PST by SFConservative
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To: SFConservative

Do you have a frame house? Are you sure there are no bugs of any kind in the wood? That's the first thing I would check. We got some kind of carpenter bee (not sure if that's what it was--looked like a huge honeybee) that bored holes in the wood of our deck roof. I can see a woodpecker going after that...


118 posted on 02/23/2007 6:43:24 AM PST by Judith Anne (Thank you St. Jude for favors granted.)
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To: toldyou
You'll find that all insect-eating birds are fond of peanut butter, especially in the winter when insects are scarce. I have Chickadees, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Downy Wps,Red Bellied WPs,and Cardinals that have discovered the Mockingbird's secret peanut butter bonanza, much to his dismay.

I have the same apple holder as you it sounds like. For some reason, the local Mockingbirds only feed on them in the spring/summer.
119 posted on 02/23/2007 6:59:35 AM PST by Dysart
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