Bird-brained and proud: densely packed neurons give birds intellectual edge

Researchers find songbirds and parrots can have as many, sometimes more, neurons packed into their brains than mammals - even monkeys and apes

Some can count, many make tools, and others recognise themselves in the mirror. But how birds pull off such complex feats with so little brain matter has long had scientists scratching their heads.

Now an answer may finally be at hand. Researchers who studied 28 bird species found that songbirds and parrots can have as many, and sometimes more, neurons packed into their brains than mammals - even monkeys and apes.