If you're like me, you're pretty sure the Earth is round. Well, it's a sphere anyway. But as you know, some people, amazingly, still think our world is flat. As moderately intelligent apes, we humans have the cognitive ability to put ourselves in the shoes of other people mentally. We understand that not everyone

shares our own beliefs and feelings. You and I understand that flat-earthers have a false

belief about how the world works. They think they're right, of course, but we know they're just

flat-out wrong. This same cognitive ability allows me to grasp

the concept that some people aren't all that interested in birds. Crazy, right? But it's true.

Likewise, I can understand that there are at least a few people on the planet who actually enjoy

the flavor of black licorish. This ability is part of

what we call theory of mind. It's a skill that allows us humans to think about mental states,

our own mental states and those of others. We try to guess someone's thoughts or gauge their

emotional state or consider their needs.

We never really know what's going on in the mind of another person, of course, but we can have

a theory about what they're thinking. That's why this is called theory of mind. So humans are

pretty good at thinking about the mental states of others. But what about birds?

Well, consider the green bee eater, Mirops Orientalis.

This lovely tropical bird lives in dry woodlands across India, Southeast Asia, and scattered

locations in the Middle East and Africa. The green bee eater is indeed mostly green, with

an orangey or yellow crown, a black eye mask, and pale blue cheeks. Its black bill is long,

pointy, and gently downward curving.

Bee-eaters, the 30 or so species in the family, myropody, aren't birds we usually single out

as being especially intelligent. But some interesting research suggests the green bee-eater

may use its own theory of mind.

In one study, researchers in India studied green bee eaters in the field to test this particular

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