What Parrots Tell Us About the Evolution of Birds

GrrlScientist writes "One of the most contentious issues among scientists who study the evolution of birds is identifying precisely when the modern birds (Neornithes) first appeared. This is due to conflicts between the fossil record and molecular dating methodologies. But there is another way to address this discrepancy. Because the evolution of parrots and cockatoos reflects the evolution of the birds (Aves) themselves, studying the psittaciformes offers compelling insights into this mystery. Further, because psittaciformes generally are not migratory and because they tend to occupy discrete ranges, their ancient patterns of diversification are easier to discern than for many other taxonomic orders of birds that have dispersed widely."

Comments

They could also tell a lot about

[crazybit]

how intelligence evolved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)

They are probably the smartest non-mammal creatures around.

Re:They could also tell a lot about

[sam_v1.35b]

Agreed. Where I live there are large flocks of cockatoos. They are very social and can get to great ages. I've often seen them playing with street lights where they pull the rubber seal out so it dangles and they can muck about. I've seen them sit in two groups on either end of a pond and mercilessly chase ducks from one end to the other. The most startling thing I ever saw was a cockatoo that was in the middle of the road. I was coming one way at 90kph and another car was coming the other way at around the same speed. The bird saw us coming too late. Under these circumstances most animals bolt, with predictably messy consequences. This cockatoo stood its ground, moved right to the centre of the road and stood still while we passed. After we passed it carried on. This was not seem like an animal freezing in fear. My impression was that it was a carefully calculated strategy.

Re:They could also tell a lot about

[BikeHelmet]

That's really neat.

It makes me think of an interesting theory proposed by scientists - that intelligence is partly social.

We learn off other people, so if you're surrounded by people smarter than you, then you're likely exposed to more concepts, and thus can better understand how those concepts relate to the world and other concepts.

What I wonder is, if you could train a small community of animals to think in a more intelligent way, would their children be smarter? Would you kickstart an evolutionary boost to their intelligence?

If you taught an entire colony of parrots to count to 10, would that become knowledge that future generations would retain?

I'm curious where the limits of intelligence are for such a tiny brain - and I wonder how far intellect could be pushed for a larger animal, such as an elephant.

They do say elephants never forget...

Re:They could also tell a lot about

[Rob Carr]

Parrots can engage in corporophagia--they eat parrot poop. If they didn't digest the food completely the first time, they'll get it the second. Their guts are short so their food has a short residence time. The things you do for flight!

It's also how they spread good intestinal bacteria among the flock. If we are forced to hand-feed a parrot chick from day one, we mix some of the mother's feces in the formula for the first week or so. Survival rate improves dramatically, although feeding a bird the size of your little fingernail is still iffy (parakeets and bourkes).

If the recent information on termites is correct, sharing feces may be one strategy for forming societies.

Finally, if you really want to get freaked out, read about treating intestinal infections with feces transplants.