Birds shown to plan ahead

[Finch]

I admit to not being able to let the mammals (chimps) hog the spotlight. So here is some bird intelegence news!



http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070219/full/070219-6.html

What the birds do in the evening depends on how they might feel the next morning. They can anticipate, for example, how much food, and of what type, will be available in different locations, and store away the right amount, in the right place, for breakfast

The birds were put in cages that were divided into three parts. In the evening they were kept in the middle section, and fed powdered pine nuts that they couldn't store. In the morning, they were kept either in the 'breakfast room', where they were given food, or went hungry in the 'no-breakfast room'.

After getting used to this set-up, the jays were given whole pine nuts in the evening, which they could bury in trays of sand. The jays put three times as many in the no-breakfast room than in the breakfast room, so that they wouldn't go hungry in the morning.

In another experiment, the jays got breakfast in both rooms. However, their breakfast comprised whole peanuts in one room, and dried dog food in the other. When given both foods in the evening, the birds stored each food in the room where it would be lacking the next morning.

No other animals outside humans have been shown able to plan actions based on how they will feel in the future

No other animals outside humans have been shown able to plan actions based on how they will feel in the future, not even chimps. This simply an astounding discovery!

Jays also seem to be able to imagine others' mental states. In 2001, Clayton's group showed that jays that have stolen food from others are more careful about hiding their own food2. We shouldn't assume, says Clayton, that such mental skills will be confined to our close relatives, such as chimpanzees.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

This is really cool, i mean its not too surprising really birds can be really smart when they want to be.

Bird brain just doesn't cut it any more does it?

 

[PlantAKiss]

Very interesting Finch. Pretty cool!

 

[joossa]

The chimps still win in my book, Finch.
Just kidding…
I have read that certain parrots and crows/ravens were smart, but have never read anything on Jays.

Now they need to move on to the next and most important question regarding this study… Does Big Bird store away his breakfast for the following day depending on how he feels?