Many feathers in their cap

The coolest thing about birds is that they understand the Earth’s geology. Birds of prey have mastered the art of capturing thermals. Thermals are bursts of hot air that rise up into the atmosphere as the day progresses. Depending on how a piece of land is warmed by the sun, thermals are formed and these birds take lift from the thermals because these are rising gusts of air. The birds then use it to scale higher, ultimately minimising their effort to fly and focussing their efforts on scavenging for food. Then we have things such as mimicry. A greater racket-tailed drongo can learn sounds from their environment and pick up sounds including human sounds.
Pravin Subramanian, veteran naturalist