Many of the people contributing to this forum will be very familiar with the mirror test as a means of estimating animal intelligence. Any animal able to recognise that its reflection is, in fact, only its reflection, and make use of that reflection, is considered to be high on the intelligence scale. So far, the number is restricted to man, four apes, bottlenose dophins and elephants.

 

Now we have the first bird. Magpies have passed this test.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14552?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn14552

 

Other birds have shown high intelligence before, with New

Caledonian crows making tools, and African grey parrots learning to use speech with meaning. How can an animal with such a small brain be so smart?

How can an animal with such a small brain be so smart?

 

Because it's not size that matters, but how you use what you've got. If size were all that mattered, the blue whale would be the smartest animal (unless you do size as a percentage of body, then I think it's a squid of some sort, but I cannot recall exactly).

 

 

Speaking of birds, have you seen this: