Bird Brain

Bird Brain is a revelation, an outstanding work of popular science It is the memoir of a crow named Edgar, written by the researcher who raised, nurtured, and studied him: Andreas Nieder, one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists. Nieder recounts what Edgar taught him: that birds are smart and solve problems, and that crows can do things that were once thought to be limited to humans and our closest mammal kin, like count and make tools. This book proves that the old insult of being called a ‘birdbrain’ is actually a compliment, and in doing so, illuminates how intelligence in nature can take many forms.

Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh palaeontologist and Sunday Times/New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Story of Birds

Edgar, the star of Bird Brain, changed my mind about what birds can know. This crow can count, find hidden food, remember his enemies, and show kinds of cognition once thought exclusive to humans. Esteemed neuroscientist Andreas Nieder also explores avian abilities in birds around the globe, giving us new insights into exactly what intelligence means and in the process deepened my understanding of how I think.

Joan Strassmann, author of Slow Birding and The Social Lives of Birds

Andreas Nieder takes us on a wild romp into the curious, complex, and sometimes contentious scientific realm of crow intelligence. His star pupil, Edgar, leads the way using his small but supercharged brain to demonstrate how smart birds use working and long-term memory, voluntary attention, cognitive flexibility, and a sense of numbers and time to thrive in a changing world. As a leader in the field, Dr Nieder reveals the clever experiments that have pushed aside the stigma of ‘bird brain’ and confronted slippery topics such as animal play and consciousness with a clear and easily readable style that all can learn from and enjoy. —

John M. Marzluff, coauthor of Gifts of the Crow and In the Company of Crows and Ravens

A fascinating look at the mind of birds through the lens of a brilliant and endearing crow, Edgar. A must-read for anyone keen on birds and on understanding the minds and brains of other animals.

Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Genius of Birds and What an Owl Knows

Andreas Nieder shows that nature has many forms of intelligence to offer. With Edgar the crow it has a protagonist who wins your heart right from the start – and who reveals the limits of one’s own understanding. A thoroughly fascinating book.

Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees