Abstract

Traditionally, mammals were thought to be the most intelligent animals, and this view was supported by anatomical studies, which identified the cortex as the site of high cognitive functions. Recent work has shown that birds have cognitive abilities that are not inferior to those of mammals, and new developments in comparative anatomy revealed that although their neural organization is different it is equally, if not more, efficient. I review here some examples of extraordinary behaviours of birds that appear to behave secretly and cheat to their advantage. Although these behaviours are probably only analogous to their synonyms in our species, they nicely illustrate the extent of cognitive complexity in non-human animals.