Why Island Birds Have Bigger Brains Than Their Mainland Counterparts

It’s a classic chicken-versus-egg quandary: Are big-brained—and therefore smarter—birds more likely to find their way to islands, or does island living trigger brain growth? Scientists have long suspected the latter, but all they had to support the claim was anecdotal evidence. Now, a new study published in Nature Communications provides data that confirms the connection between brain size and island environments, vindicating previous researchers—and perhaps proving that the phrase “birdbrain” isn’t necessarily an insult.
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