Scientists say emus are good problem solvers

Emus have a reputation for not being the cleverest of birds, however a new study could put an end to that.

Scientists have found that the flightless avians are actually pretty good problem solvers.

Compared to similar species such as ostriches and rheas, they were the fastest at working out a tricky task.

Experts hope their research could help us to better understand how dinosaurs behaved, as emus are one of their closest living relatives.

What did scientists find out about emus?

Australia is the only country in the world where emus can be found in the wild

When it comes to intelligent birds, there has been plenty of research focused on crows and parrots, which have long been known for being clever and crafty - displaying counting skills and even working a vending machine!

So, the team from the University of Bristol decided to take a look at emus, rheas, and ostriches - a three different species of bird which haven't been studied as much.

They designed a rotating wheel that had to be moved in the correct way in order to line up with a hole, in order to release a food reward.

They then took it in turns so that every bird in each group had a go at the puzzle.

Researchers found that the emus were the best at solving the task, followed by rheas, with the ostriches in last place.

Dr Fay Clark, who led the study, said that emus could have been mistakenly given a bad reputation - because there are more studies focusing on other birds such as crows and parrots.

She explained: "The more we study the same species repeatedly, the more we create an 'echo chamber' of knowledge and create a false impression that other species are less 'intelligent' but in reality they haven't been studied to the same level."

Dr Clark added that because birds such as emus "are the closest living relatives to dinosaurs, research might shed light on how dinosaurs behaved."