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Predicting Cognitive Capacity from Natural History

Examples from Four Species of Corvids

  • Chapter
Current Ornithology

Part of the book series: Current Ornithology ((CUOR,volume 13))

Abstract

Birds have been studied for centuries because they are numerous, conspicuous, and aesthetically pleasing to humans Despite their overall regard for birds, historically, many ornithologists have considered birds as instinct-driven organisms of little intellectual capacity. For example, the ornithological textbook of choice from the 1960s states the following view of avian intelligence:

Flight has proven to be an enormously successful evolutionary venture, but one that has cost birds dearly in mental development. In effect, flight has become a substitute for cleverness; birds solve many potential problems merely by flying away from them…. As a consequence, much [avian] behavior is, by mam-malian standards, fragmentary, stereotyped, and at times amazingly stupid. (Welty, 1962, p.159).

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Author notes

  1. Peter A. Bednekoff

    Present address: Institute of Applied Mathematics and Centre for Biodiversity Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1Z2

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA

    Russell P. Balda & Peter A. Bednekoff

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA

    Alan C. Kamil

Authors
  1. Russell P. Balda
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  2. Alan C. Kamil
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  3. Peter A. Bednekoff
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Val Nolan Jr.  & Ellen D. Ketterson  & 

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© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Balda, R.P., Kamil, A.C., Bednekoff, P.A. (1996). Predicting Cognitive Capacity from Natural History. In: Nolan, V., Ketterson, E.D. (eds) Current Ornithology. Current Ornithology, vol 13. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5881-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5881-1_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7697-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5881-1

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