Crows can make tools, or unzip your backpack to extract your lunch. Macaws have been known to open complicated latches their cages in order to escape their captors, demonstrating insight into complex problem solving. Jays can remember where they stashed each and every one of thousands of nuts. And I knew an African Gray Parrot that, in an effort to keep its owners home (and therefore receive more attention), mimicked the telephone’s ring every time anyone started to leave the house. In fact, many birds are exceptionally intelligent. But how do they fit those smarts into their tiny brains?

Some new research out of Vanderbilt University reveals their secret. It turns out that bird brains, far from being feeble, are actually more densely packed with neurons than are mammalian brains—even those of primates. No wonder birds are so smart!

Rather than rewrite this fascinating article, I’m sending you directly to the source. Enjoy!