Mark your calendars and join us for the 27th annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, May 15th through the 18th in Farmington, Utah.

Nestle between the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains and the shores of the Great Salt Lake,

you'll be able to experience incredible bird life in their natural habitat.

Here, expert speakers, sharing insider tips, enjoy one-of-a-kind, guided field trips,

and make memories that last a lifetime.

Whether you're a seasoned birder or just curious about the wonders of wildlife, this festival has

something for everyone. For schedules and ticketing information, visit the website at greatsalt lake

birdfest.com. It's not just an event. It's an experience you'll never forget.

Hello and welcome to the American Birding podcast from the American Birding Association.

I am Nate Swick.

How smart are birds really?

It's a question you might ask as you watch the chickadees try to pick the last tiny bits from the

suet feeder.

But it's a question with an answer that

remains mostly elusive, despite the fact that research into the cognitive abilities of birds

has progressed rapidly in the last decade. But without a way to apply what we know about

modern bird brains to bird brains in the fossil record, there's only so much that we can really

discern. Bird brains, as it turns so much that we can really discern.

Bird brains, as it turns out, evolved in a manner completely separate from mammal brains.

And while birds and mammals have developed the kind of neurocircetry that serves similar functions, the developmental mechanisms, the molecular identity of the neurons, and in fact, the very genes

involved are completely different. So the development of avian intelligence through the evolutionary

history of birds is still kind of a mystery, in part because unlike mammals, bird skulls

...