I was reading the article linked below and wondered if hummingbirds are considered (overall) any more or less intelligent than other bird species.
(Before Colibri replies with, like, authoritative information and stuff…)
One interpretation of the linked article could be that they are indeed more intelligent than any other bird species!
I think, (even aside from the usual problems about how we define intelligence in non-human animals) that one needs to keep in mind the ratio between brain size and body size. A grain of rice is small but in comparison to their tiny bodies a brain that size obviously serves hummingbirds well.
Come to think of it I don’t know of any bird species that is known for having an especially large brain, although some (ravens, some types of parrots) are known to be relatively intelligent.
Thanks for info!
On two ocaisions I’v had hummingbirds become ‘trapped’ in my garage. In both cases the birds beat themselves into exhaustion against the back window even though the LARGE front door was wide open. They were easy to catch in my hands for release outdoors.
That is behavior more associated with insects than birds; it’s rather stupid.
One of my undergraduate professors, who was the nations leading expert on Canada geese at the time, told me that birds in general are smarter than brain size alone would lead one to suspect.
I’ve read that they’re mean as snakes and fight a lot more than other birds, but no idea if that’s related.
The memory of these little guys is frickin’ amazing.
Last spring I was slow putting up my hummingbird feeders. But I “got the hint” when I saw one hovering at the spot where I hang one.
So this little rice-brain flew south for the winter and was able to remember the exact spot where a feeder was. And it was an early one which meant that it was a migrator on its way north and not one of the summer holdovers.
So all along this bird’s flight plan it has mapped out where feeders are. Wow.