Birds living in cities have larger brains
April 28th, 2011 - 5:10 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, April 28 (ANI): A new study has found that birds living in cities have larger brains while species with smaller brains are found almost exclusively in rural locations.
Researchers at Sweden’s Uppsala University looked at 82 bird species in central European cities and in the surrounding countryside and found that birds with relatively large brains, such as crows and magpies, inhabit urban areas.
They also found that small-brained species, such as larks and warblers, are found almost exclusively in rural locations.
The study supports previous evidence to suggest that brain size can help forecast animals’ abilities to adapt to new or changing environments, reports the Herald Sun.
“Blue tits learning to peck through milk bottle tops in England are a prime example,” said study leader and evolutionary ecologist Alexei Maklakov.
However, pigeons - which have small brains relative to their body size - are one exception the study did not cover.
Scientists believe that they thrive in urban environments because of their ‘iron-clad’ digestive system.
“Pigeons have extremely small brains relative to their body size. The thing they do very well is eating absolutely anything, indiscriminately,” said Susanne Shultz, an avian ecologist at the University of Oxford.
The findings appear in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. (ANI)
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