The common view that birds are "bird-brained" or rather, stupid, has finally flown the coop. In Jennifer Ackerman's book, The Genius of Birds, she carefully demonstrates through personal anecdotes, historical evidence, and studies from around the world how our feathered friends are more similar to us than we may think, and in some ways, perhaps, even smarter.
I have been fascinated by birds for as long as I can remember. I loved watching them at the bird feeder outside my bedroom window growing up, how they fought over the perches, chatted with one another, and when my cat dared to come near, how they would insult him angrily from the branches of trees, just out of reach. They all seemed to have a spark of intelligence in their beady eyes, and loads of personality, but I loved watching them to study the differences in their appearance--how the colors of their feathers differentiated, their songs sounded, etc. My love for birds grew as the years passed, and I collected sightings of rare species in my mind, my battered and well-loved copy of Birds of Michigan by Stan Tekiela and my binoculars always on hand when playing outside.
When I came across the title The Genius of Birds while perusing the bookshelves of Barnes and Noble this past year, I couldn't put it down. Although fascinated by birds, I never considered to see why they did the things they did, and how those behaviors were, or should be, considered intelligent. Throughout my education, it was taught that most animals functioned by instinct, besides a select few where learning skills to survive were necessary to thrive (primates, for example). The things birds are skilled at, such as migration, flying, etc., were thought to be purely instinctual, therefore, making it easy for people to see them nothing more than, as Ackerman put it: "pecking automatons with brains so small they had no capacity for thought at all."
The world has been wrong about our feathered friends, and in her book, Ackerman takes us on a journey around the world, to the past, and back to our own backyards to see how birds have managed to not only survive, but thrive because of how they have adapted to the changing times as humans have taken away more and more of their habitats. From the common crow, to the pigeon, and to even the house sparrow, she gives detailed examples of how birds often hidden in plain sight are capable of feats not known to other animals.
"Among the published studies tumbling from scientific journals are some with titles that lift the brows: 'Have we met before? Pigeons recognize familiar human faces'; 'The syntax of gargles in the chickadee'; 'Language discrimination by Java sparrows'; 'Chicks like consonant music'; 'Personality differences explain leadership in barnacle geese'; and 'Pigeons on par with primates in numerical competence.'"
Yes, in the scientific world, birds have finally joined the ranks of animals thought to possess near-human intelligence, alongside chimps, dolphins, and elephants. But then, Ackerman seems to argue that birds have more to them than possessing "near-human intelligence." They may possess even greater-than-human intelligence in some aspects. In the chapter titled Mapping Minds, Ackerman describes how the homing pigeon's hefty hippocampus enables the bird to navigate around the world and back to its home. This is not a genetic gift, but, as Ackerman says, a hard earned skill.
It's a fascinating chapter because she then goes on to describe how veteran London cabbies (taxi drivers) who have been driving the streets of "the world's most confusing city" have more gray matter in their hippocampus when compared to cabbies who are considered still green at the job. This comparison between the homing pigeon and a London taxi driver then brings Ackerman to pose the question: what happens if we humans stop using our cognitive maps, and rely on technology to help us get from point A to point B? I won't spoil the rest, but it's a fascinating chapter.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite it being outside my usual comfort zone of literature, biographies, and books on historical events. I think it was the first book that could be classified as scientific that I've read for fun, ever, and it was well worth it. Ackerman's writing is personable, easy to follow, and throughout the book she includes interesting stories of famous birds that have defied the classic notion that birds are dumb. From Alex the parrot (that story made me cry) to Thomas Jefferson's pet mockingbird, Dick, by the time you finish The Genius of Birds, you'll never look at a pigeon, or any bird, the same again.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys watching the antics of our feathered friends, my bird-watching friends, and anyone who is just interested to learn more about them.
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