On the heels of an earlier study showing that trained pigeons can detect malignant tumors in mammograms with the pinpoint accuracy of human radiologists, Herculano-Houzel’s report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is another nod to the higher intelligence of birds. “For a long time having a ‘bird brain’ was considered to be a bad thing: Now it turns out that it should be a compliment,” she said. Toss out that insult, too, says the study’s senior author, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a Vanderbilt University neuroscientist. The part of the brain associated with intelligent behavior is front-loaded with far more neurons in the tiny bird than the big, hairy mammal, the study says. Here’s why: The brain of a macaw, about the size of a walnut, is much smaller than the lemon-sized brain of a macaque, but the bird is probably more intelligent than the primate. Maybe it’s time we toss that little putdown out the window, a new study says.
Associated Press fileA report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is another nod to the higher intelligence of birds.
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