Birdbrain or Mastermind? The Evolution of Consciousness
For centuries, calling someone a “birdbrain” was an insult. Science assumed that because birds lacked a neocortex, they were essentially biological robots incapable of subjective thought. That dogma is dead. A major 2025 scientific review, validating the recent New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, has confirmed that birds possess a “hidden cortex” and complex self-awareness. From roosters that pass the mirror test to crows that ponder their own existence, discover the stunning evidence that nature invented the conscious mind twice.
