Surmising even the physical appearance of a dinosaur - or any extinct animal - based on its fossils is a tricky proposition, with so many uncertainties involved. Assessing a dinosaur's intelligence, considering the innumerable factors contributing to that trait, is exponentially more difficult. A study published last year by Vanderbilt University neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel that evaluated the intelligence of Tyrannosaurus rex, focusing upon estimated brain size and the number of brain neurons, as comparable to that of primates - specifically a baboon - caused a stir in scientific circles.
Evolutionary biologists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: