Brainy birds may fare better under climate change

Many North American migratory birds are shrinking in size as temperatures have warmed over the past 40 years. But those with very big brains, relative to their body size, did not shrink as much as smaller-brained birds, according ...

Brain capacity compared in humans and birds

The working memory is the brain's ability to process information for a short period of time in a retrievable state. It is essential for performing complex cognitive tasks, such as thinking, planning, following instructions ...

Unraveling the mechanisms that control parental care in birds

When animals become parents, they often need to change their behaviors in ways that allow them to protect and ensure the survival of their offspring. What happens in the brain when an animal becomes a new parent?

The longer the yawn, the bigger the brain

Yawning doesn't need be a sign of boredom. Rather, it appears to be a measure of brain size. Vertebrates with larger brains yawn longer, according to a study of more than one hundred species of mammals and birds. The findings ...

The surprising organisation of avian brains

Birds and mammals have the largest brains in relation to their body. Apart from that, however, they have little in common, according to scientific opinion since the 19th century: mammalian brains have a neocortex, i.e. a ...

Domesticated chickens have smaller brains

Researchers from Linköping University suggest a process by which the timid junglefowl from the rain forest could have become today's domesticated chicken. When the scientists selectively bred the junglefowl with least fear ...

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