Black-capped Chickadee

Not sure if this little Black-capped Chickadee was going to eat this seed or fly off with it to hide it in some tiny crack in a tree branch. The white background is, of course, snow, ha! Photographed at Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Park, three days ago.

The size of the hippocampus of the Chickadee's brain (a part of the brain involved in memory) increases in size in the winter weather, allowing these amazing little birds to remember where they hide each and every seed. Their survival in harsh conditions depends on this increased memory. Wish my own brain could do this - just imagine how handy that would be : )

rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/276/1656/401.full