We seem to be in the business of correcting erroneous concepts this week. We corrected the often-used idiom, “Blind as a Bat”, just 3 days ago, (April 17th) and now we turn our attention to that mild, yet commonly used insult “Birdbrain”, meaning a person is stupid, foolish, or scatter brained. This description also suggests that our feathered friends, the birds, are less smart than Homo sapiens, (Latin meaning – “Wise Man”).
Crows / Rooks are intelligent and opportunistic birds.
In the case of one Tipperary Crow [Rook (Corvus frugilegus)], despite his extremely untidy nest building skills, latter which is located nearby, and part of a noisy colony in the tops of high trees; trust me when I say that he is as “bright as button”, when it comes to scheming, planning and problem solving.
View the video, provided above, on full screen, and pay particular attention to the bird’s leg coordination, and see how one suet ball on a long string can be controlled and held in place, when spread across more than one tree branch.
Rooks resident near the Irish coast have figured it out that if they carry and drop cockles and mussels from a height onto rural, coastal, hard surfaces e.g. rocks and roads, they can then swoop down to consume the contents of the smashed shells.
In the South Pacific’s French territory of New Caledonia, crows have been shown to be smarter than children aged between 5 and 7, when it comes to problem solving.
So, next time you are categorised as a ‘birdbrain’, regard it as a compliment.
The modern crow has more and better brains than the modern human