Why 'bird-brained' may not be such an insult after all

Birds show remarkable levels of intelligence, something that may have given them the edge following the K-T extinction event

Even though I am better with dead birds than with living ones, I do enjoy watching them. Their behaviour is fascinating, and as Jennifer Ackerman points out in her book, birds are a lot more intelligent than we often give them credit for. But what do we know about the evolution of bird intelligence? How did the bird brain evolve, and when did it take on its "birdiness"?

The fossil record isn't particularly well-suited for the preservation of soft tissue such as brains - and behaviour doesn't fossilise at all. However, some inferences regarding behaviour can be made based on anatomy, something the fossil record is rife with. When we look at the anatomical evidence of bird behaviour in the fossil record (Naish, 2014), it becomes clear that certain types of behaviour we see in modern birds - such as colonial nesting, parental care and plumage display - evolved a long time ago, and are likely dinosaurian in origin.