Edward Wasserman, Professor of Experimental Psychology in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Iowa has determined that pigeons use a common area of the brain to judge space and time. This suggests that these abstract concepts are not processed separately.

Parrotlet “Sweet Pea”

To determine this, the pigeons were put through the “common magnitude” test. This is where the birds were shown (on a computer) a horizontal line either 6 cm or 24 cm long for either 2 seconds or 8 seconds. When they correctly pecked one of four visual symbols, the length or the duration of the line, they received food.

This compares with a person’s ability to determine space and time without the use of a watch or ruler. Other animals that have been tested have also shown this ability.

One common example that almost all pet owners have witnessed is when their pet knows that they are coming home each day. The dog or cat who waits for their owner to come home from work at the same time each day exhibits what the researchers have tested in pigeons.

There is so much about animals that we are still learning. If only they could talk and tell is what is on their minds!