3 ms·
Bird neurons are typically around 40% of the length, or 1/9 the volume of mammalian neurons. This means they have around 9x the number of neurons per unit volum
by RachelF 1y ago
Bird neurons are typically around 40% of the length, or 1/9 the volume of mammalian neurons. This means they have around 9x the number of neurons per unit volume.
A large parrot has around the same number of neurons as a beagle dog.
Combined with weight savings, this may allow their brains to work faster, which is useful for a flight computer.
Birds have other features which are superior to mammals. For example, their flow-through lungs allow for more efficient gas exchange.
However, having to fly means weight reduction has been a big driver of evolutionary compromises. A bird that can fly cannot carry large fat reserves around. They are not resilient when sick and often die quickly after the onset of visible symptoms.
- yencabulator 1y agoYour comment made me think of cheetahs. An article once claimed that the biggest reason for cheetahs to perish in the wild was that at the speed they're running, even a minor mistake means they'll take a tendon-tearing or bone-breaking tumble, and their speed-optimized bodies are relatively fragile. Once they're injured, they are no longer fast, and thus lose their one and only predatory advantage. Humans really are surprisingly strongly generalist, in ways many other animals are not.
- lukas099 1y agoCheetahs are sports cars.
- RachelF 1y agoSpeaking of Cheetahs, pigeon fanciers like to compare their birds to Cheetahs. A 200gram grain-fueled homing pigeon can maintain 60km/h for an hour. A cheetah can do that for maybe a minute. I've always thought this is not really a fair comparison, as flying through the air probably requires way less energy than sprinting.
- ASalazarMX 1y agoI hope someone else also wonders how smart a human with bird-like neurons would be. I feel weird even thinking about it.
- mr_toad 1y agoMy human neurons are inclined to wonder if the results hold true for other flying animals, particularly insects, and of course, bats.
- ip26 1y agoSounds like a tradeoff to me. Shorter neurons probably means fast operation and small size, but reduced regional and global connectivity. From the little I know about brains, this would imply things like reduced creativity.