Like Lefebvre, most scientists who study birds prefer the term cognition to intelligence. Animal cognition is generally defined as any mechanism by which an animal acquires, processes, stores, and uses information. It usually refers to the mechanisms involved in learning, memory, perception, and decision making. There are so-called higher and lower forms of cognition. For instance, insight, reasoning, and planning are considered high-level cognitive abilities. Lower-level cognitive skills include attention and motivation.
