Birds' minds contain more neurons than some monkeys

'We found birds, especially songbirds and parrots, have surprisingly large numbers of neurons in their pallium, the part of the brain that corresponds to the cerebral cortex, which supports higher cognition function such as planning for the future or finding patterns,' said Professor Herculano-Houzel. 'That explains why they exhibit levels of cognition at least as complex as primates.' The connection between intelligence and neuron count has not been firmly established, but the experts say avian brains could provide birds with a much higher cognitive power than mammals. The study has also demonstrated that there is more than one way to build a larger brain. Previously, it had been thought as brains grew larger neurons had to grow bigger as well because they had to connect over longer distances.