Who’s a clever bird, then? The rook, for one

Ornithologists dislike the use of ‘birdbrain’ as shorthand for stupid, because our feathered friends are very intelligent, says Rita de Brun. The British Trust for Ornithology has called on the British public to take part in a national survey on bird intelligence

BIRDBRAIN is a mild insult that generates uneasy smiles, but it also reinforces the erroneous notion birds are less than smart.

To knock this myth on the head, the British Trust for Ornithology has called on the British public to take part in a national survey on bird intelligence; people’s task is to observe and video rooks engaged in intelligent behaviour.