Exploring Nature

To say that someone is a “bird brain” is not considered a compliment, but an insult. And that is a shame because a bird’s brain is one marvelous creation. Just imagine the smarts required to fly thousands of miles during migration and wind up in exactly the right spot – without using a map. And by the way, we are just past the peak of spring bird migration in Texas. The period from April 27 to May 2 was our busiest period as birds returned from places down south. For the northern states, the peak period was May 15 to May 21. Bird brains are generally only as large as is absolutely required for the bird to survive. That’s because any added mass in the form of brain tissue is expensive to maintain. A bird will only maintain those cognitive abilities it needs in its particular environment. Just one example: In harsh winter conditions, chickadees in the wild need to store more food to survive. Therefore, they also need enough brain tissue to store information about where their many food caches are located. This requires a slightly larger brain than is required for birds in warmer locales with mild winters. In general, birds – and all animals – are only as “smart” as they need to be to survive. The proper term for the portion of a bird’s brain responsible for spatial memory is the hippocampus. It is only as large as is needed in a particular environment. But this little brain has many amazing attributes – birds can shut down half the brain and still fly. They can also store lots and lots of information essential to migration and to thriving in daily life. All in all, being a “bird brain” is being quite remarkable.