Bird Protection Quebec's Monthly Meeting

Monday, February 1, 2010, 7:30 pm at Knox Crescent Kensington & First Presbyterian Church - 6225 Godfrey Avenue, NDG

Feeding Behaviour: A Window on Avian Intelligence with Louis Lefebvre

Birders, both academic and amateur, have been recording novel and unusual feeding behaviours for decades. The accumulated database is a useful tool to look for species differences in innovativeness. Invention of new behaviours is one of the definitions of intelligence, so we can examine the relationship

between the brain and the rate of innovation in particular birds Louis Lefebvre, our speaker for the evening, is Professor of Biology at McGill University and Program Director for the Minor Concentration in Science for Arts Students Program.

Though he has a Ph.D. in Psychology from Université de Montréal, Louis decided to focus on animals, more specifically the non-genetic means by which new behaviours originate and are maintained and transmitted in animal populations. He studies innovations, learning and cultural transmission in the field, in captivity and with data from the literature. Most of his research centres on birds, with field work conducted on nine avian species out of the Bellairs Research Institute of McGill University, Barbados, and on feral pigeons in Montreal.

Louis is the perfect blend of science and art. He has published scores of scientific articles, several works of fiction and articles for non-specialists. He is also a photographer and a sculptor. A man of many talents and not to be missed!