Talk:Bird intelligence

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Contents 1 Article suggestions 2 Adapting To Man-Made Environment 3 Erm, what? 4 weirdness moved from article 5 Another move 5.1 Conceptual skills 5.2 I proofread a bit 6 Penguins

[edit] Article suggestions

This article needs attention. Some of the sections seem to point out sensory abilities such as ultraviolet vision as examples of intelligence. Shyamal 04:03, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Adapting To Man-Made Environment

I witnessed an interesting incident at about 2PM, June 24, 2006 in Toms River, New Jersey. I was driving in moderate, but fast moving local traffic at about 35 to 40 MPH (56 to 64 kmPH).

Suddenly a small bird, that was being chased in flight by a much larger bird, flew in front of the car in front of me (a small car, with low road clearance) and underneath it. The larger bird just barely flew out of the way of the oncoming car, while the smaller bird flew out from behind the car and away, with significant extra distance between it and the larger bird (the larger bird may have been surprized or stunned by the near collision of it and the car and appeared to break off the chase).

This seems to me to be a good example of the smaller bird adapting to and utilizing the man-made environment, the fast moving automobiles on the road that is, to survive the attack of the larger bird.

Remember this the next time you hear somebody use the word birdbrain.

72.82.195.34 13:27, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Erm, what?

"A controversial study conducted by Ryan B. Reynolds has suggested budgerigars are able to form simple, meaningful sentences. The evidence consists so far of only audio files, but they have yet to be either proven or disproven."

If it has not been proven, why is it mentioned here?

Since the reference isn't a peer reviewed journal, I'd have to query it's weight as a source. The source also mentioning telepathy raises another flag about its suitability.

I have not edited the article, I leave that to someone prepared to take on the "flouride mind control" crowd.203.129.36.8 06:17, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] weirdness moved from article

Another study conducted with pigeons showed that the birds were able to distinguish between the artworks of different artists. For example, they could tell the difference between a Picasso and a Monet.

Cockatiels can count. Females lay five eggs. Take one away? She lays another. Take them all? She lays five more. Female pet cockatiels have a shorter life span than males due to the reproductive nutritional stress on the body. Minimize reproduction by allowing her sit continuously on the same batch of eggs. (Remove them just before they're scheduled to hatch and replace all five if she starts nesting again). To convince the pair to stop, you can rearrange the inside of their cage. If that doesn't work you can change the position of their cage in the room as well. They are that sensitive to novel circumstances.

The first paragraph is rather weird in terms of content, so it needs sources and specification (a study by whom, conducted when, etc.?). The second paragraph is written in a style that sheds doubt on the veracity of its content as well.--91.148.159.4 18:28, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Another move

I don't doubt the following information so much, but as another anon editor removed it, and as it has been unreferenced since October 2006, I think it is reasonable to keep it here rather than in the article. --91.148.159.4 12:06, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Conceptual skills

Some birds, notably pigeons, have demonstrated the ability to conceptualize. In one study, conducted at Harvard in 1964, it was shown that pigeons have a general concept of "human," which includes male humans and female humans, individual body parts, and the human body from the back, from below, and from above. When shown photographs of all of the above, the pigeons recognized the photos as "human." They also recognized photographs of human beings in "disguise" (i.e, a human in the nude, wearing strange clothes, or shown out of proportion).

[edit] I proofread a bit

Just for fun, I had a go at some language in this article. I do not think I made any substantive change at all, as I tried not to do so.Songflower 22:15, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Excellent work. Shyamal 02:31, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Penguins

I want to ask how are penguins intelligent? They are non-flying birds and can have large brain, but I can't find any information about their brain and intellectual abilities. Til. 29.03.07 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.227.194.147 (talk) 09:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC).