Emus might not be the ‘world's dumbest bird' after all

Yahoo

20-02-2025

The insult 'bird brain' should probably be retired. Eurasian jays can pass the marshmallow test, some species have 'culture', and even extinct avians like the dodo were probably smarter than we previously thought. Large birds called palaeognaths–the closest living relatives of dinosaurs–are considered more simple. However, a small study found that some large birds are also capable of innovation. They can solve a physical task in order to access food, according to a study published February 20 in the journal Scientific Reports.
Palaeognaths include emus and ostriches, and can reach 9 feet tall and weigh upwards of 300 pounds. They are more known for their brawn than their brains and often rely on their running speed and kicking to defend themselves. Emus have been called the 'world's dumbest bird' for decades.
While we know that other birds are effective problem-solvers, not as much work has been done on other groups of avians.
'The more we study the same species repeatedly, the more we create an 'echo chamber' of knowledge and create a false impression that other species are less 'intelligent' but in reality they haven't been studied to the same level,' Fay Clark, a study co-author and a comparative experimental psychologist at the University of Bristol in the UK, said in a statement
For this new study, the team worked with three palaeognath species at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol–emus, rheas, and ostriches. They designed the test to measure their ability to innovate, or 'the use of pre-existing behaviors in novel circumstances or invention of novel behaviors.' Testing innovation and its relationship with animal cognition is a common way for scientists to measure general intelligence.
Based on previous research, the team designed a rotating wheel that had to be moved in the right way to align with a hole to get a food reward. Each of the three species was given the test in 10 sessions.
The emus were able to line up a hole with a food chamber and moved the hole in the most efficient direction towards food 90 percent of the time.
A male rhea used this same technique, but also created a second one. He rotated the bold in the middle of the wheel until it fell apart.
However, this particular group of ostriches did not innovate during these tests.
'We classify palaeognath innovation as low level or simplistic–and it is certainly not as complex as the innovation we see in crows and parrots,' said Clark. 'However, it is still a very important finding. There were no reports of technical innovation in palaeognaths before our study, and there was a prevailing view that they are 'dumb' birds. Our research suggests that is not true and that technical innovation may have evolved far earlier in birds than previously thought.'
[ Related: Why are there so many birds? ]
The team plans on conducting more cognitive research on palaeognath birds. In order to make a fair comparison, the rotary task must be used on other bird species to assess both how they respond to the same problems and how they try to solve them.
'The more we study palaeognath birds, the more we can understand the broader picture of bird cognition,' said Clark. 'And because palaeognaths birds are the closest living relatives to dinosaurs, research might shed light on how dinosaurs behaved.'