It is a parent’s favourite boast: how bright their son or daughter is.

But up until the age of seven, children are, at least in some respects, be no brainier than birds.

Using tests reminiscent of the Aesop’s fable in which a thirsty crow is able to drink from a pitcher after using pebbles to raise the water level, researchers pitted birds against boys and girls.

In two of the three tests, the birds – Eurasian jays – did just as well as the seven-year-old children.

After this, the human mind proved superior to the bird brain.