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Do birds have a subjective reality? A new experiment suggests so

#1
C C Offline
https://www.forbes.com/sites/fernandezel...ggests-so/

EXCERPTS: . . . Commonly, consciousness is ascribed to humans and other primates, while others suggest it is a trait shared by mammals. It is even more difficult to understand if animals such as birds, insects, and fish have a conscious point of view. A new study out of the University of Tübingen in Germany published September 25th in Science suggests that birds such as crows may indeed have a subjective reality.

Consciousness can have many levels. [...] For primates, consciousness is commonly associated with the cerebral cortex. Animals such as birds lack this portion of the brain. The study, led by Professor Andreas Nieder, the chair of Animal Psychology at the University of Tübingen, examined crows, a subset of corvid birds (the class of birds that also includes ravens, magpies, and jays). They trained the birds to respond to a visual stimulus projected on a screen.

[...] The nerve cells were active only when the bird reported seeing the stimulus. This activity was recorded in the ‘nidopallium caudolaterale’, or NCL. While birds do not have a cerebral cortex, their NCL routes sensory information to other parts of the body. “Interestingly, this NCL evolved anatomically distinctly and independently over the course of evolution, and it is only found in birds,” says Nieder. “We think the NCL serves similar high-level functions in the bird brain as the prefrontal cortex in our primate brain, but there is no NCL in the mammalian brain, just as there is no prefrontal cortex in the bird brain.” (MORE -details)

RELATED (UPI): Scientists observe conscious processes in crow brains
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#2
confused2 Offline
Swearing parrots.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-li...e-54340425

Jess Newton said it was very entertaining working with the birds when they first arrived [at the wildlife park].
However, she said it was hoped they would "kick the habit" when they were put outside.
Sadly, this did not quite go to plan, park chief executive Steve Nichols said.
The parrots "swear to trigger reaction or a response" so if people look shocked or laugh, it just encourages them to do it more, he said.
"With the five, one would swear and another would laugh and that would carry on," he said.
...
"Some visitors found it funny but with kids visiting at weekends, we decided to move them.
"I'm hoping they learn different words within colonies - but if they teach the others bad language and I end up with 250 swearing birds, I don't know what we'll do," he added.
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