A burst of sunshine and a birds brain

Day 42 #365DaysWild 

Birds make the best gardeners! 

This magnificent, multi-headed burst of sunshine in the vegetable garden was, we think, planted by a coal tit! The seed may have been collected from our bird feeders.

Stunning sunning sunflowers

Coal tits grow their hypocampus (which is the upper part of the brain) in the autumn to enable them to memorise where they hide (‘cache’) food when it is abundant - for use when food supply is low.

Neuroscientists are studying this ability of coal tits to grow their brain to understand how this may benefit humans suffering brain injury.