A Bird’s IQ: Innovation, Intelligence, and Problem Solving in the Avian World

Biologist Lefebvre makes his English-language debut with an intriguing study of how birds learn, solve problems, and communicate. Drawing on his field work in Barbados, he demonstrates that birds are remarkably clever (“By evolutionary descent, we humans may be naked apes, but by virtue of our resilient, invasive, and opportunistic intelligence, we are also in many ways featherless crows”). Lefebvre shares how he and other researchers put together a database that ranks birds by their innovativeness. At the top of the list is the house sparrow; scientists have observed the species develop more than 50 techniques to acquire food, including flapping in front of sensors to trigger the opening of automatic doors so they can eat crumbs inside supermarkets. Another high scorer is the Eurasian collared dove, which has learned to steal food pellets fed to feral cats in parks in Catalan. Lefebvre also discusses the connection between bird intelligence and brain size. For example, peacocks, who have relatively small brains, attract a mate by showing off their spotted, fanned feathers, while bigger-brained lyrebirds and birds of paradise perform complex vocal imitations and dances “that make the peacock’s strut look like child’s play.” Packed with enlightening case studies of avian ingenuity, this will make readers rethink the meaning of birdbrained. Photos. (May)