FASS Brown Bag Seminar by Dr Elias Garcia-Pelegrin | Uncovering Avian Intelligence: New Insights into Hornbill Cognition

Dear all,

You are cordially invited to the first session of the FASS Brown Bag Seminar Series in Semester 1 of AY24/25. Dr Elias Garcia-Pelegrin (NUS Psychology) will be presenting on “Uncovering Avian Intelligence: New Insights into Hornbill Cognition”.

Date: 5 September, 12pm – 1pm
Venue: Online via Zoom
Register: Zoom

Uncovering Avian Intelligence: New Insights into Hornbill Cognition
Animal cognition explores the mental processes in animals, including learning, memory, reasoning, and future planning. Historically, intelligence research focused on primates, especially non-human apes, due to their evolutionary closeness to humans. However, intelligence is not exclusive to primates. Birds like parrots and corvids are known for advanced cognitive skills, rivalling those of chimpanzees. In this talk, I will present new empirical data from Mandai Wildlife Reserve, revealing that cognitive complexity in birds may extend beyond parrots and corvids. Specifically, I will introduce findings on hornbills, a previously understudied avian family, which demonstrate remarkable cognitive capabilities. These findings broaden our understanding of avian intelligence and challenge the notion that advanced cognition is confined to a few select species.

Elias Garcia-Pelegrin, Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, explores convergent evolution of intelligence across taxa. His lab, based at Mandai Wildlife Reserves and St. John's National Marine Laboratory, studies hornbills, parrots, primates, and cephalopods. He earned his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Cambridge.