I’m talking about birds, of course. Avians. Feathers and such.
New research suggests pretty conclusively that some birds (magpies, in this case) understand that the image they see in the mirror is their own. Used to be, we thought that only mammals could do it.
Of course, every time we figure out that non-humans can do stuff, the newspapers and most people want to put it in terms of humans. “See? We’re not unique in that way!”
As for me, I no longer need that. Humans are unique in some ways, as are all distinct species. But we’re not the only ones who communicate complicated thoughts, sing, play, fight, use tools, grow crops, keep livestock, enslave others of our kind, rape, recognize reflections, deceive, risk death for our families and friends, and more more more.
We are, as far as we know, the only ones who blog.
Maybe your standards are looser than mine, but I’ve seen some blogs (and a lot of Usenet posts) that didn’t appear to come from human minds.
I recall once being told that humans are the only animals stupid enough to crave salt. Maybe we’re the only species to spout grossly inaccurate generalizations about our (and other) species.
Oh, that brings back fond memories of Mom, Dad, Sis, and I all heading down to the salt lick on Sunday mornings to get our fill.
All those deer laughed at us for craving salt, but we didn’t care. We just licked away. Lick. Lick. Lick.
That wasn’t quite how I responded to him. More like “What are you, insane, stupid? Have you never seen or heard about other animals? Try talking to a farmer!” See, I’m not very diplomatic sometimes.