Among them is a new paper published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Researchers Gianmarco Maldarelli and Onur Güntürkün from Ruhr University Bochum emphasize three key areas where birds exhibit significant parallels with mammalian conscious experience: sensory consciousness, the neurobiological foundation, and the nature of self-consciousness.
Maldarelli and Güntürkün demonstrate that there is increasing evidence that (i) birds possess sentience and self-awareness, and (ii) they also have the necessary neural structures for these traits. Image credit: Kutte.
First, research on sensory consciousness reveals that birds do not just automatically respond to stimuli; they also experience them subjectively.
Similar to humans, pigeons can alternate between different interpretations of ambiguous visual signals.
Moreover, crows exhibit neural responses that reflect their subjective perception rather than just the physical presence of a stimulus.
At times, crows consciously recognize a stimulus, while at other times, they do not; certain neurons activate specifically in correspondence to this internal experience.
Second, bird brains possess functional components that satisfy theoretical requirements for conscious processing, despite their differing structures.
“The caudolateral nidopallium (NCL), which is akin to the prefrontal cortex in birds, features extensive connectivity that allows for flexible integration and processing of information,” noted Güntürkün.
“The avian forebrain connectome, illustrating the complete flow of information among brain regions, shows numerous similarities to those of mammals.”
“As such, birds fulfill criteria outlined in many established theories of consciousness, including the global neuronal workspace theory.”
Third, more recent studies indicate that birds may exhibit various forms of self-awareness.
While certain corvid species have successfully passed the traditional mirror test, alternative ecologically relevant versions of the test have unveiled additional self-awareness types in other bird species.
“Research has demonstrated that pigeons and chickens can differentiate their reflections in mirrors from real-life counterparts and respond accordingly,” explained Güntürkün.
“This indicates a fundamental sense of situational self-awareness.”
The results imply that consciousness is an older and more prevalent evolutionary trait than previously believed.
Birds illustrate that conscious processing can occur without a cerebral cortex, achieving similar functional solutions through different brain architectures.
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Gianmarco Maldarelli and Onur Gunturkun. 2025. Conscious birds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 380 (1939): 20240308; doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0308
Source: www.sci.news
