Who Are You Calling a Bird Brain?

October Speaker Program via Zoom

Dr. Kim Adelson, PhD

Thursday October 13^th   7 pm

For hundreds of years, birds have been considered incapable of advanced thought or learning.  This is why the phrase “bird brain” is commonly used to denote persons who are dolts or simpletons. But… do birds really deserve this bad rap? Are they truly less intelligent than mammals? THEY ARE NOT! In fact, recent research has consistently demonstrated that some birds have remarkably strong cognitive skills, comparable to monkeys and even apes. Some can form abstract concepts; some display prodigious memories; some make and use tools; and some can make complex inferences. Watch this presentation and you will discover the surprisingly strong mental abilities exhibited by a wide variety of birds.

Kim Adelson is Vice-President as well as Education Committee Chair for Black Hills Audubon. She frequently gives presentations to groups across the state on numerous topics that involve birds; this will be the fourth talk she has given to a BHAS chapter meeting (You may remember her as the “birds from dinosaurs” lady). Kim has a master’s degree in evolutionary biology and a Ph.D. in psychology. Her main focus in graduate school was the evolution of intelligence. Although her own research concentrated on primates, she has followed the research on bird cognition for more than 40 years. Since teaching and birding are the two things she most loves to do, Kim is very excited at being able to share her knowledge on this topic!

Free registration at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcod-6qqjgqGdcayNs2VzhO2q-KlDWp7o2x