Pigeon

Scientists once thought bigger brains made smarter animals. But birds fly in the face of that logic: with a brain smaller than a walnut, they can develop sophisticated tools and remember where they hid food. Now research published in Current Biology suggests birds can pull this off because their brain neurons use less energy than those of mammals, letting their bodies support a higher proportion of these cells. A 2016 study showed that avian brains are denser than those of many other animals. For example, a macaw’s…

Scientists from the American Bird Conservancy have rediscovered a rare pheasant pigeon that has not been documented for nearly 140 years.Researchers installed camera traps on Fergusson Island, Papua New Guinea, with the results showing the rare black-naped pheasant-pigeon strutting in the images.According to the American Bird Conservancy, the pheasant-pigeon is "a large, ground-dwelling pigeon" with a "broad and laterally compressed tail" and only lives on the island off the east coast of Papua New Guinea.The photos and…