Bird Brains? New Research Places Magpie on a Shortlist That Includes Homo Sapiens

"You need a large brain with a lot of connectivity. If it had been a sparrow, it would have been a problem."

-- Franz de Waal, primate behavior expert at Emory University, comments on new findings indicating magpies have the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror, the first non-mammal on a short list that includes humans, four types of apes, bottlenose dolphins and Asian elephants, all of which have a neocortex, which the magpie does not.

Self-recognition, once thought to be an ability enjoyed only by select primates, has now been demonstrated in a bird. The finding reported in Live Science, has raised questions about part of the brain called the
neocortex, something the self-aware magpie does not even possess.

In humans, the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror develops around the age of 18 months and coincides with the first signs of social behavior. So-called "mirror mark tests", where a mark is placed on the animal in such a way that it can only be observed when it looks at its reflection, have been used to sort the self-aware beasts from the rest. Of hundreds tested, in addition to humans, only four apes, bottlenose
dolphins and Asian elephants have passed muster.

Helmut Prior at Goethe University in Frankfurt and his colleagues applied a red, yellow or black spot to a place on the necks of five magpies. The stickers could only be seen using a mirror. Then he gave
the birds mirrors.

When the birds with colored neck spots caught a glimpse of themselves, they scratched at their necks - a clear indication that they recognized the image in the mirror as their own. Those who received a black sticker, invisible against the black neck feathers, did not react.

The researchers concluded that self-recognition in birds and mammals may be a case of convergent evolution, where similar evolutionary pressures result in similar behaviors or traits, although they arrive at them via different routes.

Posted by Jason McManus.

Source:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.animals.wildlife/browse_thread/thread/130518ba5f990fd3

Comments

[Christann]

did u know that magpies have funerals? I've seen 50-some come from all around to mourn - odd sounds they make. We have many where we live and even had a nest very near our house to observe them. Such interesting creatures - very smart! They eat the moths off our garage wall after the flood light is off in the morning. Know any group wanting to study them or any other bird or critter? We have lots of animals at our place in MT. Wetland/timber type property.Lots of critters live & visit here.