July 22, 2005 — Birds fly south in search of warmer climates because they lack the brains to survive harsh winter conditions, according to a new study.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, the research suggests that non-migrating species have bigger brains and are more creative at finding food in the hard winter months.

Daniel Sol of the Independent University of Barcelona in Spain and colleagues reanalyzed previous observations of 134 songbird species breeding in the Western Palaearctic region, which includes Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

They divided the songbird species into three groups: long-distance migrants that winter south of Sahara; short-distance migrants that winter south of its breeding range but north of Sahara; and year-round residents.

It emerged that species that stayed in one place were more creative in finding food.

On average, non-migrating birds were observed using four innovative techniques per species, compared with three novel feeding styles for short-distance migrants and just one for long-distance migrants.

"Species with greater foraging flexibility seem to be able to cope with seasonal environments better, while less-flexible species are forced to become migratory," wrote the researchers.

Several studies on feeding innovations in birds support the new research.

In a previous study, Louis Lefebvre, an animal behaviorist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, recorded birds using amazing tools, including probes, hammers, sponges and scoops in birds searching for food.

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