What’s going on inside the head of a bird? Scientists are making surprising discoveries.

Second in a series

By Anders Gyllenhaal

All Reed Bowman had to do was stick out his arm and a Florida Scrub-Jay landed on his hand in seconds, as if the bird had an appointment.

In a way, it did. For years, Bowman visited the scrub-jays around the Archbold research center every few days, studying how they raised their chicks, gathered acorns and found their stashes months later. Over time, the jays all came to know him so well they’d perch right on his hand, arm and hat in greeting during his rounds.

The encounters beg a question that’s on the minds of more and more scientists today: What exactly is happening inside the brain of a bird?

Florida Scrub-Jays are known for keen intelligence, but all kinds of birds are showing signs of recognizing people, having memories, possessing self-awareness, even playing games. This leads many researchers to conclude birds have a level of consciousness long believed only humans could claim.

What this could mean

It’s not a matter of idle curiosity. If birds have self-awareness and consciousness, it raises questions about how various species compare with – and relate to — humans.

If birds have emotions, if they feel happiness and sadness, and if they are aware of themselves as distinct entities, would that change how we think of them? And could that ultimately help shape wildlife conservation policies at a time when half of the world’s bird species are losing populations that threaten their future? 

Birds are among the best branch of wildlife to explore these questions, since they’re everywhere, easy to watch and in constant contact with people. They are also one of the most deeply studied branches of wildlife, which is why discoveries are mounting on their intelligence, memories and sentience.

This post is part of a series that answers the top questions people have about birds. The initial piece, about how birds fly the way they do, explored the fascinating advances researchers are making about birds and flight. This piece takes up developing research on an equally meaningful front. (See the note below for how we settled on the top questions.)

Crows at the top of the class:

The best way to dig into this topic is to turn to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the avian research mecca that studies all elements of birdlife. Kevin McGowan, a Cornell Lab of Ornithology scientist especially adept at explaining birds, has spent decades watching them close-up, with a focus on crows that are considered among the smartest of birds.

“Their social lives are very similar to ours, and it’s ironic that I spent my entire professional career not allowing anybody to casually anthropomorphize birds,’’ he told us, referring to the temptation to project human behavior on them. “And yet I end up telling stories of how these birds are like people because they have so much in common with us in their societies and intelligence.”

McGowan’s crows have come to know him – and even his car make. When the crows see him come out of his office, he’ll find them waiting at his parking space outside the Cornell Lab, hoping for the peanuts he hands out. “I had one crow here at the lab that knew me by my face, but also apparently by my walk because it would come up behind from behind and perch in front of me and beg for peanuts.’’

“Remarkable memories”

Nicola Clayton, who specializes in animal cognition at the University of Cambridge, has spent decades studying the lengths that birds go to hide and protect their food. She found birds learn how to pretend to hide their stashes to fool other crows hoping to steal their food.

“They have remarkably accurate and long-lasting memories,’’ she said in a podcast about her discoveries. “They can remember not just where they’ve put things, but what kind of things they’ve hidden. They keep track of who’s watching. That’s an example of the ability to think about what others are thinking and put yourself in someone else’s shoes.’’

“They’re just like us.”

Some of the most revealing work on bird consciousness is on the Florida Scrub-Jays living around the Archbold Biological Center in Central Florida. For years, the late Reed Bowman led a project that studied young jays with the help of an innovative tracking system that followed the birds 24 hours a day. The aim was to discover what they needed to find mates, start families and survive on their diminishing habitat.

Along the way, Bowman opened a window on the bird’s behavior that revealed not just their intelligence but their rich personalities, even their youthful antics. For instance, the jays hung out together like human teenagers, vying for mates — and sometimes stealing existing mates from weaker females. “In other words,’’ he told us, while we were visiting Archbold for our book on bird conservation, “they’re just like us.’’

Raising lots of questions

The evidence of consciousness in birds has built from a string of experiments testing their smarts in different ways. One project found species can recognize themselves in mirrors. Another found that some birds are able to tell the difference between Picasso and Monet paintings by the artist’s styles and color tones. Birds even show signs they can plan for the future, reflecting an awareness of time.

These findings challenge the long-standing conviction among scientists that bird brains weren’t big enough to enable complex thinkings. They’ve now discovered that while small, bird brains are loaded with neurons that provide the firepower when it comes to cognition. The numbers of neurons in many bird rivals that of primates.

“There is growing evidence that birds have sensory and self-awareness, and they also have neural architecture that may be necessary for this,’’ reported a study in the Royal Society entitled, simply: “Conscious birds.’’

Intelligence and consciousness aren’t the same thing. But many researchers now argue that the evidence of memory, planning, self-recognition and social awareness makes it increasingly difficult to separate the two. In an unprecedented petition, 600 scientists have signed the New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, citing the strong scientific support for attributions of conscious experience to other mammals and to birds.”

Will their smarts protect them?

Anyone who watches birds for any length of time can’t help but wonder what goes on in their heads.

We’ve been dive-bombed by angry Orange-crowned Kinglets whose heads famously turn bright reddish-orange when they’re upset. We’ve watched in awe as hummingbirds accustomed to well-tended feeders buzz us with impatience when the nectar runs out. Watching Great Egrets dance in midair during courtship make you wonder whether they are experiencing something akin to joy.

The question of the consciousness of birds as well as other animals goes beyond the evidence of intelligence and self-awareness. The realization that apes, elephants and dolphins have high intelligence has altered public opinion and fueled laws in several countries providing special protections, preventing harm and enhancing conservation.

What about birds?

Such trends have yet to apply to birds. But the Cornell Lab’s Kevin McGowan said he hears more talk along these lines than just a few years ago. “A lot of people feel that if they’re that smart, we should be giving them more respect, that we shouldn’t be killing them, that we shouldn’t be eating them,’’ he said.

There are some existing conservation measures that cover birds, including the Migratory Bird Act that protects long-distance travelers, the Endangered Species Act meant to rescue birds in trouble, and special protections for our national bird, the Bald Eagle.

None of these are enforced with the force and conviction that birds deserve. As researchers make the case that birds are equal to dolphins and apes – and in some ways people – the stronger the case is that we should take real action to ensure their long-term survival.

As McGowan sees it, their consciousness shouldn’t be the only reason we work harder to protect birds. “I’d like to make the case for saving the dumb birds, too. You know, they’re fascinating creatures in their own right,’’ he said. “There are a lot of ugly, stupid creatures out there that I think we should still try to preserve.”