Research from the University of Alberta is putting a whole new meaning on the term bird brain.
Biologist Kimberley Mathot has been delving into how birds develop individual personalities.
Mathot studied a shorebird called the red knot and found that individual birds showed different levels of boldness.
Even when her red knots were all given the same access to food, some were much more prone to explore new parts of their environment than others.
The finding echoes patterns she’s found in other species.
Mathot says that from bird to bird, they all show slightly different personality characteristics that remain consistent even when circumstances change.
Mathot thinks that having different personalities makes a species more adaptable and stable over the long run.