Neanderthals and Birds

OK, but my question is: why haven't the birds gotten any smarter in tens of thousands of years?
https://www.archaeology.org/news/10081-2...al-choughs

Maybe because Neanderthals haven’t been eating them for a long time that and the fact that they actually have bird brains 

1. Neanderthals as a distinct subspecies are extinct.
   
2. Choughs are still around.
   

Sounds like the Choughs just evolved faster than Neanderthals, in the face of whatever changed in the environment.

Or maybe there's a few that got lucky and are still around. What you call a "relict population".

(They ordered the chicken, BTW.)

I think I remember seeing a show recently that found Neanderthal DNA among the human population. It's hard for me to believe that bipedal man didn't interbreed.

Regarding brain size, our modern brains are actually shrinking. That explains a lot of recent human events IMO. But no joke. our modern brains are shrinking.