The Eurasian magpie is believed to be not only among the most intelligent of birds, but also among the most intelligent of all animals. Along with the western jackdaw, the Eurasian magpie's nidopallium is approximately the same relative size as those in chimpanzees and humans and significantly larger than the gibbons. Like other corvids, such as ravens and crows, their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to most great apes and cetaceans. A 2004 review suggests that the intelligence of the corvid family to which the Eurasian magpie belongs is equivalent to that of the great apes (bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) in terms of social cognition, causal reasoning, flexibility, imagination and prospection.
The Eurasian magpie is glossy black in color with a metallic green and violet sheen; the belly and scapulars (shoulder feathers) are pure white. The graduated tail is black, glossed with green and reddish-purple. The plumage of the sexes is similar but females are slightly smaller. The young resemble the adults but are at first without much of the gloss on the sooty plumage. The young have the malar region pink and somewhat clear eyes. Their tail is much shorter than the adults.
No comments:
Post a Comment