Mission: Possible Along Came A Spider Food Finds Bird Brains?

To birds, we go through life at a snail’s pace. We talk, walk, eat (heck, maybe we even think) 10 times slower than birds. Our eyes can’t follow their rapid movements. What we hear as one musical note in a bird’s song is really 10 separate sounds! Play it back in slow-mo and you might hear a composition rivaling Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Considering all this, “bird brain” is quite a compliment.

Crows have about 300 different calls that humans can tell apart. But not all crows understand each other. Just like us, they have local dialects. Crows in the U.S. don’t understand some calls that their British cousins make, and vice versa.

Alex, a parrot, can understand and use hundreds of English words and phrases and can even creatively combine words when he needs to. He made up “banana cracker” to mean banana chip and “rock corn” to mean a rocklike Brazil nut in its shell.

Many people have seen birds grieving. After a car killed a coucal’s (a member of the cuckoo family) mate, he refused to leave her side or stop trying to revive her. A robin who crippled his rival in a fight fed him and kept him alive. Pairs of terns took turns lifting up a hurt flockmate by his wings, carrying him to safety.

Birds remember exactly where they’ve hidden thousands of seeds each fall and find their way back to their stashes using the sun, stars, and landmarks to guide them.

Crows use tools like twigs to pick up food. But one crow amazed birdwatchers when she went one step further and made her own tool by bending a piece of wire in order to hook a piece of food.

Birds dance, play “hide-and-seek,” and have even been seen sliding down snow banks and climbing back up again and again for the sheer joy of it just like we do!

During a storm, rescued rooster Notorious Boy held his wing over his hen friend, Mary, shielding her from the rain until someone remembered to bring them indoors.

Most turkeys love tunes, especially flute music. At Farm Sanctuary, a haven for rescued animals, turkeys gather around the radio and “sing” to the music.

Pretty Slick Chicks
Chickens can learn to use switches and levers to change the temperature in their surroundings and to open doors to feeding areas.

Researchers have distinguished more than 30 different clucks that chickens use to communicate, including separate alarm calls depending on whether a threat (like a snake or an eagle) is traveling by land or air.

In some ways, chickens are as smart as little kids, according to animal behaviorist Dr. Chris Evans. Discussing their various abilities, he explains, “At conferences I sometimes list these attributes, without mentioning chickens, and people [think] I’m talking about monkeys.”

What Do You Mean, You Only Eat Chicken?
Before they are turned into nuggets and drumsticks, chickens are snatched up by their legs and stuffed into crates bound for the slaughterhouse. Hanging upside down on the conveyor belt, many already have broken legs and wings. Terrified, their throats are cut and some are even dunked into scalding water before they pass out.

Go vegetarian! The best way to show that you respect birds is to stop eating them. Try delicious fake chicken products like Gardenburger’s Chik’n Grill, Yves’ Chick’n Burger, and Worthington’s Chick-Ketts and fabulous faux turkey dishes like Tofurky, Unturkey, and Yves Veggie Turkey slices. Find them in the freezer and “health food” sections of your local grocery or health food store.