I am sort of obsessed

with this stuff about cognition in different animals, and there's a crazy article in the Times today about recent research on bird brains. Here's a taste: "At a university campus in Japan, carrion crows line up patiently at the curb waiting for a traffic light to turn red. When cars stop, they hop into the crosswalk, place walnuts from nearby trees onto the road and hop back to the curb. After the light changes and cars run over the nuts, the crows wait until it is safe and hop back out for the food."