Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more information see the Zoo InternQuest Journals. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal.

Next time someone says you’re bird-brained, take it as a compliment! After spending time in the Zoo’s aviaries with San Diego Zoo bird keeper Kristi Bruce, I have a completely new appreciation for the intelligence of these bird-brained creatures. Birds have some intellect that even humans have yet to master.

For example, birds always clean their plates. The birds at the San Diego Zoo have learned that the keepers will only throw them more food if the previously thrown food has been devoured. Ms. Bruce showed this to us as we threw crickets to the red-crowned cranes. One of the crickets started to float away and as the crane looked to us for more, Ms. Bruce pointed the crane in the right direction , “Keep looking, there’s still one cricket there. I still see one.” And the crane understood, grabbing up the last morsel. Only then was a shower of more thrown to her by the amazed interns.

I was also astonished by the birds that turned and hopped away after we had thrown them several small fish (their favorite!). Ms. Bruce explained that we weren’t being snubbed; the birds were merely saying that they were full and didn’t want anymore. This surprised me; I thought all animals ate as much as was available in order to always have extra stores of energy. I know that I have certainly eaten more even after I was full, especially if it is one of my favorite foods! But most birds have a keen ability to know when they have eaten their fill and will ignore any extra food that is thrown to them. During the feeding, I noticed several behaviors: certain birds such as the white-breasted cormorant just waddled away, while others turned their backs as we threw food but stayed around out of curiosity.

There is one quality that the birds and I have in common—we like the foods that are most unhealthy! Most birds have broad ranging diets from insects to fruit, but the favorite foods of some birds are also very unhealthy for them! Sound familiar? Mynahs, toucans, and birds of paradise are very sensitive to iron-rich foods. Although french fries and candy aren’t the problem here like they are with me, these birds require specialized diets and can’t be housed in the open aviaries with the other birds. When the keepers put out foods with iron, there is no way to prevent the iron-sensitive birds from consuming them. In order to limit their diet, the birds are kept in separate enclosures so that they aren’t tempted to sneak a taste!

Birds show a lot of common sense in their behaviors, and even in their love for junk food, they are a lot like us humans. So next time you hear the chirping and twittering in the trees, listen up!

Ronit, The Real World Team

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