Where did "Bird Brain" come from if most birds are very intelligent?

Question

This tends to puzzle me. I know for a fact that the majority of birds are extremely intelligent...

Even the famed chicken, from my own experience, is very curious, inquisitive, and intelligent, having much more thought and observation than many mammals (take rodents, for example).

And Animal Planet's "The Most Extreme" lists parrots as the most intelligent animal in the world (not including us, of course), and I do believe I remember that the orangutan followed second or third... truthfully, I do believe that the parrot family is very intelligent, anybody know who Alex the African gray parrot is? Well, I find that he's one of hundreds of intelligent parrots out there...

So, the thing I'm pondering is, where did that term, "Bird Brain" come from, if clearly, the majority of birds are far from stupid?

Answer 1

meaning tiny brain

Answer 2

This came from a couple of sources.

1.  small size of bird brains.

2.  Ground fowl like Turkey and Ginney Fowl are known for some interesting behavior.  Like drowning themselves in a rainstorm...they look up at the rain and end up drowning.  They also will spook and fly over a body of water...and then drown. Stupid huh.

**another misconception..is "eat like a bird"

When actually..birds consume more food per kg body weight then humans do!

Answer 3

i'm assuming because the actual physical size of the brains in birds are so small

Answer 4

Perhaps it is that their brain size is small, and it goes with the assumption that brain size and intelligence go together some how.  ( a common misconception)

I must say domestic Turkeys though...not so bright.  Their wild  cousins are very smart however!

Answer 5

Its because the common thought pattern early on was big brain equaled high intelligence which isnt always nessacarily the case and birds generally have a small brain.

Of course nowadays we know better but the saying kind of stuck.