London - They may be tiny, but hummingbirds have a huge memory, researchers have found.
Their hippocampus – the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory – is up to five times bigger than that in songbirds, seabirds and woodpeckers.
This might explain why hummingbirds are such skilled foragers.
The birds can remember where every flower in their territory is and how long it takes to refill with nectar after they have fed.
A team led by Dr Andrew Iwaniuk, of the University of Lethbridge in Canada, dissected hummingbird brains and found their hippocampus showed an “exceptional” memory.
Their study is published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. - Daily Mail