LONDON (Reuters) – Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, highlighting the mental skills of some birds and confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals.
It had been thought only chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror.
But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies -- a species with a brain structure very different from mammals -- could also identify themselves.
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What an utter waste of research money. It's been well-known by many of us who were around in the 60's that magpies are very intelligent, industrious birds.
