Birds with large brains, such as the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius), were better able to adapt to the socio-economic changes affecting their habitats after the end of communism. (Credit: © Harald Lange / Fotolia)
Songbirds With Bigger Brains Have Benefited from the End of Communism
ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2011) — According to a new study published in Biological Conservation the abundance of songbirds with relatively large brains in Eastern Germany and the Czech Republic has increased since 1989 / 1990. Researchers from German Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) and Czech Charles University in collaboration with "Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten" (Federation of German Avifaunists) had compared population trends of bird species in different European regions. The increase in large-brained songbirds is attributed to the better cognitive abilities of the species enabling them better adaption to the socio-economic changes affecting habitats after the end of communism.