Tuesday, 11th April, 12:00pm – 12:45pm – Birmingham Rep Theatre
This is FREE but booking is required: book your FREE ticket.
We do not rate birds very highly in terms of their capacity for intelligence when compared to mammals, such as apes and dolphins. This has led to the use of ‘birdbrain’ as an insult for those of little wit. However some birds, such as crows and parrots, could be considered ‘feathered apes’ as they have cognitive abilities similar to chimpanzees.

Some birds have complex memories of the past and plan for different future scenarios. They have sophisticated social skills, allowing them to predict what another will do next and even use this information to deceive them. They can solve novel problems, using and making a range of different tools. They can even recognise themselves in mirrors and may be conscious.

In this talk, Nathan Emery from Queen Mary University London describes some of these intellectual feats, and explains how the unique structure and function of the avian brain, albeit much smaller and differently structured, may actually make such feats more likely.

See https://bird-brain.eventbrite.com/ for full details and book your place online.