Many inquisitive people are interested in the question of which bird is the smartest. Scientists distinguish several species from the world of birds, but still it is the crow that takes the lead. Even though she cannot imitate human speech as much as parrots, her mental abilities are much higher than those of other birds.
Crow
The smartest bird in the world is the crow. Scientists say that birds of this species are much smarter than four-year-old children. The intelligence of these birds can be compared with the human. In tests of intelligence, they often overtake not only all their feathered counterparts, but also many animals. The smartest bird on earth -
This is the New Caledonian crow. Even among her direct relatives in appearance, she is the most quick-witted. These crows can not only use some tools, but even make them on their own. At the same time, they have a great mind and many other abilities.
Experiments on crows
Scientists have done many experiments on crows in an attempt to find out which bird is the smartest. For example, they figured out how different types of birds can get food from a vessel half-filled with water. Pieces of food floated on the surface. Nearby were scattered stones of different weights. After several unsuccessful attempts to get to food only with the help of their beak, the New Caledonian ravens came up with another option. They began to throw pebbles into the water, thereby raising the water in the vessel. Accordingly, the food rose higher. Moreover, they chose the stones that were heavier.
The most intelligent bird in the world, which is considered to be a crow, often chooses the most alternative options for solving a particular life task. As a result of experiments, scientists found that these birds are able to evaluate the shape, mass and distinguish between types of substances (water, air, sand, etc.). Crows made conscious decisions. For example, in order to get a piece of food, the birds even bent a wire with their beak, forming a hook, with which they then took out food.
The development of the mental abilities of crows
Ravens live in flocks, which allows them to constantly learn from relatives and learn from their experience. They are not alien to mutual assistance. If the chicks are in danger, then the whole flock rushes to the defense. Crows even hide prey without "witnesses". These birds are very cunning, almost never fall into traps, and if they find themselves there, they often find ways to get out of them.
Ravens can distinguish between the colors of traffic lights, adults and children, weapons or a stick in a person’s hands. They do not eat food together with the package, they always unpack it first, and the dry crust of bread is first soaked in water.
Raven abilities
What is the smartest bird among the tamed ones? If you take home a crow, then it will be no worse than a guard dog. It can even sometimes imitate the human voice. Her lexicon sometimes includes up to 150 words. Ravens are highly trainable. For example, only this bird can be taught to serve cutlery, remove hats from guests. No other is capable of this.
Crows know how to have fun. They like to tease not only people, but also animals. For example, it has been observed that they often sit on the backs of cows and pinch them with their beaks until the animal begins to jump and kick. Then the crows fly away and enjoy watching the kicking from the side.
parrots
What is the smartest bird besides the crow? In second place are parrots. In total there are over 300 species. But not all polls are smart, unlike crows. Only a few species show amazing quick wits and intelligence.
One of the amazing abilities of these birds is the imitation of human speech. Parrots are able not only to repeat words after a person, but often understand their meaning. These birds can warn the owner of danger, call to them, specifically indicate their desires (often with the help of words). These birds are quite vindictive and jealous. But they can also love passionately. They quickly adapt to the situation.
Which bird is considered the most intelligent among parrots? They differ greatly in intelligence. For example, in Jaco it is higher than in Amazons. Scientists from Vienna conducted many experiments and found that parrots are able, like crows, to use various objects. For example, in one of the experiments, the bird, not reaching the food with its beak, took a stick into it, with which it pushed a piece of food towards itself. Another parrot in the same way took out a pebble that had fallen out of the aviary, with which he had previously played.
What are the smartest parrot birds? Scientists highlight the mental abilities of Jaco. One of the representatives of this species even became the world champion in a row. This is the only bird in the world that has learned to count to eight. A six-year-old Jaco from New York is fluent in conjugation of verbs in different tenses, has a great sense of humor, and can even describe photographs. At the same time, he perfectly distinguishes chimpanzees from humans on them and unmistakably recognizes the people who are depicted on them.
Making and using tools
What are the smartest birds in the world? As mentioned above, these are crows. Another interesting question is what kind of birds can make and adapt certain items to their needs? These include only a few species. Crows are in the lead, of course. But there are some other birds, which are distinguished by their intelligence and quick wits.
Parrots, as it turned out, are even capable of making tools. For example, in order to get a nut through the bars, the bird with its beak broke off a chip of the right size from a wooden beam, with which it then rolled it towards itself. The ability to use and make the right tools is very rare in birds. Only crows, parrots, finches, vultures and some herons can boast of it.
A reel for insect prey knows how to pick up a cactus needle of the desired length. Then, with the help of it, he extracts food from the wood. Vultures pick up the stones of the right weight in order to break the eggs of the African ostrich and feast on their contents.
Owl
This bird is considered one of the smartest, and it was even made a symbol of the well-known club “What? Where? When?". The owl has symbolized wisdom since ancient times. Among the Romans and Greeks, she was considered very intelligent and, according to legend, was the companion of the goddess Minerva. The same opinion was shared by the Indians of North America. Although scientists are still arguing about the wisdom of an owl.
Turkey
This bird in popular rumor is considered stupid. But this is far from true. They are very smart. They understand well what is happening around. Turkeys are distinguished by a high individuality; these birds are also endowed with a peculiar character.
What are the smartest birds
There are many birds in nature that have unique abilities. So how do you determine which bird is the smartest? It is impossible to single out just one of the many species. Birds almost all have intelligence, but they also have varying degrees of intelligence and quick wits. Superiority is still given to the crows. But, besides them, there are other, however, less intelligent birds.
Jays are able to show amazing ingenuity in the process of searching for and obtaining food. Falcons in terms of mental abilities are in second place. Woodpeckers and herons are also highly valued by scientists. Many of these species use a variety of tools to obtain food.
The smartest bird
During a series of experiments, zoologists managed to find out which bird is the smartest. became a crow, because its intellectual abilities exceeded the level of all other individuals of the feathered family. The researchers explained that the bird is able to solve problems that are beyond the power of a child of 3-4 years. In addition, in terms of the skills to solve the simplest tasks, the crow overtook not only representatives of its kind, but also occupies a leading position in the ranking of the smartest animals in the world.
So the crow took part in the experience of the following content. She was given a vessel with water, on the surface of which pieces of food floated. She could not reach them with her beak. Nearby lay stones of different types and weights. Some time after trying to get food, the crow showed quick wit - she came up with an alternative way to get food by putting the heaviest stones in a jug. Water with food rose to the surface and became available for food. Thus, it was possible to establish that the crow evaluates the shape and weight of various objects of the surrounding world: sand, water, air, etc. They also distinguish colors and threats - for example, a weapon in the hands of a person, and take food out of the package before eating.
Ravens are trainable along with parrots. They have about 150 words in their vocabulary and imitate human speech.
The smartest birds in the world: TOP 10
First the place, as we have already found out, is occupied by ravens due to their exceptional intellectual abilities.
second position is taken by parrots. In total there are about 300 species. Their most unique ability is copying human speech. They probably understand the meaning of the words, because they can respond to the calls of the owner. There are many cases in history when parrots warned their owners of danger. In the USA lives a parrot-record holder. He can count to eight. And in New York, a case was recorded when a bird learned to conjugate verbs at times. She distinguishes between animals and chimpanzees in photographs.
On the third place is an owl. It has long symbolized wisdom and ingenuity. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered her smart, calling her the companion of the goddess Minerva. The Indians of North America held the same opinion.
Fourth a place in the ranking "The smartest birds in the world: TOP-10" is turkey. She is considered stupid by the people, but in reality she demonstrates high mental abilities. Birds are endowed with a character that they show at every opportunity.
Fifth the position is taken by falcons. They remember a long journey and use primitive tools, such as wooden sticks, to get food.
On the sixth place are pigeons. They are known to memorize landscapes or drawings and recognize them many years later. How well they remember people and the way is evidenced by the experience of sending carrier pigeons. The Japanese say that these birds see themselves in the mirror and do it better than young children. Previously, it was believed that only certain species of primates, dolphins and elephants, had such abilities. Residents of London are sure that pigeons use the subway in the city, they know the stop and the exit point. If he was kicked out of the car, he will definitely fly into it through another entrance and get to the designated point.
seventh the place is taken by the tit. She has cunning and dexterity.
On the eighth position in the ranking is the starling. It can copy the sound of an alarm or a ringtone that sounds on the phone. A resident of Copenhagen named a bird living in his garden "Nokia" due to the fact that the starling mimicked the mobile, making the same sounds.
On planet Earth, undoubtedly, the most intelligent creature is man. We know this with accuracy and, of course, we are accustomed to considering all other animals only our smaller brothers. Surely, many have heard that there are quite smart animals that, by their behavior, if you watch them, show ingenuity, intelligence, and pity for their dead relative. Dolphins, elephants, monkeys, dogs and many others. But are there smart birds? Some skeptics will say something like "Yes, how many brains do they have there so that they can think." But this is far from true. Among the family of birds, there are species that behave quite interestingly in life. They think no worse than animals that are considered endowed with intelligence. Sometimes it even seems that these living beings are as intelligent as people.
If you make a list of the five most intelligent birds, then the crow will come first. An ordinary crow, to which we are so accustomed. A bird that can often be seen on the roofs of houses in cities, which does not fly to warmer climes, but winters near people's dwellings.
The crow is able to memorize up to 150 words and repeat them just like a parrot. This bird can distinguish colors. Can take food out of a package that is securely sealed. Understands and quickly retreats when something threatens her. For example, a weapon in the hands of a person. According to recent research, this bird can solve problems that are beyond the capacity of a four-year-old child. People, for example, saw how, having found a piece of stale bread on the street, a crow carried it into a puddle so that it softened and could be eaten. Also, when a bird fails to peck at a nut, it throws it on the asphalt from a great height. Or just leave it on the road, waiting for a car to pass and crush the thick crust. There are many such examples.
The second place in the list of the most intelligent birds rightfully belongs to the parrot. In nature, there are several hundred species. The most interesting thing is that when copying a person's speech, they understand the meaning of certain words, as they respond to the calls of the owner. Parrots can not only repeat words, they also copy the sounds of other animals and can hum melodies. There are cases when these birds warned their owners about the danger, thereby saving their lives.
In third place are owls. This bird is often depicted on emblems as a symbol of wisdom and intelligence, and this is not unreasonable. The owl is easy to train and easily recognizes its owner. If you watch how a bird hunts, tracks down its prey, it immediately becomes clear that its intelligence is at a high level.
Fourth place is occupied by turkeys. Many consider them stupid birds for the strange sounds they make and for their funny appearance. But that's not the case at all. Turkeys are pretty smart. For example, they recognize their owners, they have a good memory. Finding food somewhere, the turkey will never eat it alone, but will definitely share it with its relatives. Birds do not eat spoiled and bad food, unlike chickens. Oddly enough, but turkeys have their own character and their own quirks.
In fifth place in the ranking of the most intelligent birds is the falcon. The bird is often used for hunting, because it is easy to train. In Arab countries, sheikhs buy well-trained falcons for fabulous money. The bird has a good memory and easily remembers the farthest path. Falcons can be vindictive, trust only their master and do not let strangers near them. Only very experienced specialists who know their business are engaged in training the bird, because the bird is a predatory one and can react aggressively to any cry and noise, to the appearance of another animal.
Most of the birds from kind of ravens have amazing mental abilities.
Scientists studying the intelligence of crows claim that these birds are smarter than a four-year-old child and much smarter than many animals.
They often outperform many mammals and other birds in intelligence tests.
In the scientific world, interest in bird intelligence arose when biologists and anthropologists seriously thought about the origin of human intelligence, which could not have arisen from nowhere, without serious evolutionary development.
The intelligence of our closest relatives, the primates, was primarily studied, but scientists were amazed to find signs of advanced intelligence and cognitive abilities in corvids, which are not as evolutionarily close to humans as monkeys.
New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) are "champions" in intelligence even among their corvid relatives.
For a long time, one of the main signs of high intelligence, which distinguishes man from other animals, was considered to be manipulations with tools. But as it turned out, birds can also use tools, as well as create and modify them. This ability was observed not only in corvids, but also in herons and Galapagos woodpeckers. However, the New Caledonian crows became the favorites of zoopsychologists in terms of intelligence.
Even in Aesop's fable about the crow and the jug, it was described how a smart bird threw stones into the jug to get drunk when the water level rose.
Biologists from the University of Cambridge conducted an experiment confirming the high level of intelligence of crows. Five wild New Caledonian ravens participated in the experiment, which had to get a piece of meat from a narrow vessel half-filled with water, showing quick wits, since it was impossible to reach food with its beak.
After several attempts, all participants in the experiment found a successful solution to this problem - the crows dropped pebbles into the vessel until the water level rose enough to grab the treat with their beak.
Moreover, cunning crows refused to pick up light porous pebbles, specially left by scientists nearby, and chose heavy stones that quickly lead them to prey.
At the next stage, scientists complicated the tasks for ingenuity: they changed the vessels, added vessels with sand, or did not fill them with anything. Smart birds did not always stupidly rush to throw the biggest stone into the water, but in each specific situation they selected the most successful of the alternative options to achieve their goal. The crows consciously solved new puzzles and did not associate the presence of food with the presence of water in the vessel and large stones next to it.
Thus, scientists found that crows are able to distinguish between substances and select the most suitable tools in terms of shape and weight in order to extract food in a particular situation.
And in the next experiment, the New Caledonian raven had to solve an 8-stage quick wit problem in order not only to manage to remove a short stick hanging on a rope, but then use it to extract 3 pebbles from the cells (moreover, 3, less weight was not enough), then reset everything 3 pebbles into a device with a sufficiently long branch, and with its help, finally reach the far-hidden bait! It was a world record for intelligence. It seems to me that crows are smarter than many of us 🙂
There are many sightings of New Caledonian ravens in nature when they pluck crooked twigs from bushes with their beaks, peel off excess bark from them, leave a small knot at the end, and deftly wield the resulting hook, extracting insects from cracks and other hard-to-reach places.
New Caledonian crows are not limited to sticks and twigs alone. Experiments by zoologists from the University of Auckland (New Zealand) showed that these birds can use even such a mysterious object as a mirror for their own purposes.
With the help of a mirror, the crows determined where the piece of meat was (they did not see the food itself, only its reflection). Looking at the reflection, the birds understood where to stick their beak in order to get food, and experiments were carried out with wild birds that had not yet had time to live next to a person and watch him.
It is known that wild animals are very rarely able to understand that the image in the mirror is their own reflection. The ability to solve the “mirror test” is possessed by a small intellectual elite of the animal world, which includes Jaco parrots, some primates, dolphins and Indian elephants. Well, and human cubs over 18 months old 🙂 Now crows have been added to them.
New Caledonian crows are not the only object of study for biologists. Japanese zoologists from Utsunomiya University proved that big-billed crows can match numbers and abstract symbols with the amount of food. By numbers and geometric shapes on containers with food, the birds recognized where it was more and where it was less.
Yes, and everyday observations of people over the gray crows and other corvids familiar to us provide material indicating their developed mental abilities:
There is a lot of evidence for the mind of corvids and it is impossible to list them in one article.
Below, under the spoiler, I give an excerpt from an interesting article on the structure of the corvid brain, describing research conducted at the Department of Biology of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University. I. Ya. Yakovleva.
Excerpt from an article about the structural features of the brain of crows
We managed to find out that
I must say that until recently, the psyche of birds has traditionally been underestimated, and not only because of the small size of their brain, but also because of the specifics of its structure. The brain of birds is deprived of the six-layered new cortex (which mammals have), and its evolution was due to the transformation of the nuclei of the striatum, or striatum.
The striatum is older than the cortex, and its functions are simpler than those of it; therefore, the central nervous system of birds was perceived as a primitive structure not intended for the implementation of higher cognitive functions that the new mammalian cortex performs.
Over time, however, the point of view on the bird brain began to change - it turned out to be more complicated than thought.
It was found that, despite the differences in the spatial organization of the neural networks of the striatum of birds and the neocortex of mammals, their formation and development in evolution are determined by the same morphological patterns.
Do corvids have any features that distinguish their brains from other birds? To do this, the crow needs to be compared with someone - for example, with a dove. Pigeons really are not very smart, and numerous works by Professor Zoya Aleksandrovna Zorina and her colleagues from the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University made it possible to find out in detail exactly what exactly pigeons are more stupid than crows. Gray crows are able to estimate the size of sets and store such mathematical information not only in specific images, but also in a generalized, abstract form that birds can associate, for example, with Arabic numerals; they can see analogies in the shape of objects without paying attention to the color of those objects. That is, the birds, as it were, represent a separate sign "in the mind", without being tied to a specific subject. Pigeons learn this procedure much more slowly. In addition, the set for learning in pigeons is practically not formed, while in corvids it appears quite quickly and on the basis of an optimal strategy. Obviously, the difference in cognitive abilities is explained by differences in the structure of the brain of birds of these two species.
We managed to find out that crows have twice as many neurons in their brains as pigeons and twice their specific density. At the same time, the neurons and glia in the brain of the crow are smaller, and the neuroglial complexes are larger than those of the pigeon.
In crows, the structural components of the brain are located closer to each other, which speeds up and optimizes the work of nerve chains.
So, crows owe their exceptional intelligence to the peculiarities of neural architecture. Nevertheless, birds, including corvids, are noticeably inferior to mammals in terms of the total number of neurons. If in the brain of a crow there are 660 million neurons, then in animals their number is measured in tens of billions. What allows corvids to solve problems on a par with some primates? The fact is that in mammals, in the evolutionary series, the density of cellular elements decreases, while in birds it increases, including due to the combination of single neurons and glia into the aforementioned neuroglial complexes. Apparently, in connection with the acquisition of the ability of birds to fly, if necessary, on the one hand, the maximum lightening of the total mass, and on the other hand, the acceleration of movements in their brain, a cardinal optimization of information processing mechanisms took place. This required a different structural-cellular solution: instead of the columnar structure characteristic of mammals, birds developed spherical cell complexes. These complexes have become the most important structural and functional units of the brain of birds, which are not inferior in efficiency to the neural columns in the brain of animals.
Man tends to consider himself the smartest creature on the planet. However, there are many animals that demonstrate a very high level of intelligence, as well as ingenuity, developed memory and the ability to build logical chains. These representatives include birds. Below is a list of the five feathered inhabitants of the planet with the most developed mental abilities.
1. The leader of this list is crow. Namely, the New Caledonian Raven. Many species of birds use third-party objects (sticks or stones) in order to get their own food. This type of crow is able not only to find suitable tools, but also to make it on its own. The basis of the diet of the New Caledonian raven includes bugs that live under the bark of trees. In order to get them, crows choose the most flexible and thin sticks, bend their ends in the manner of hooks and easily get their own food. Scientists have also found that crows have their own language and are able to work together in large groups.
2. In second place - parrots. In total there are more than three hundred species. However, the Jacos are recognized as the smartest of them. Grays compensate for their pale coloration with a very high level of intelligence, which allows these birds to memorize and, moreover, understand long sentences, conduct a conscious dialogue with humans, as well as imitate barking, meowing and other cries of animals, repeating long and complex melodies. In addition to all this, the Jaco has very strong family relationships, and they are also characterized as very vindictive birds.
3. owls ranked third in the list of the smartest birds on the planet. An owl in many parts of the world is a symbol of wisdom due to its appearance - large eyes with a fixed and piercing gaze, silence, and the ability to turn its head almost 270 degrees, noticing everything around. They are often kept as pets, they lend themselves well to training and recognize their owners. Very interesting to observe is the process of hunting and tracking down prey by owls.
4. The fourth place in the list was fixed, oddly enough, for turkeys. Despite their appearance and constantly emitted scream, these birds are considered very smart. Especially when it comes to getting food. When a delicacy (for example, grapes) is at a height from the ground, the turkeys will not only get to it, but will also be thrown to the ground so that all relatives can get food. At the same time, it was often noticed that turkeys do not take food from each other, but eat all together. Moreover, these birds will not eat anything horrible, which means that the risk of catching an infection is much less than that of the same chickens. It has also been repeatedly observed that turkeys are able to recognize their owners, which indicates a developed memory.
5. Falcon closes this list. This bird is very often used in sport hunting, quite easily makes contact with a person and can be trained. However, do not underestimate the falcon - like any bird of prey, it can react aggressively to a scream or fright, and there are also cases of these birds attacking other animals. Falcons are able to show character and cunning during training in order to get a treat. For this reason, they must be trained under the guidance of an experienced mentor who knows all the nuances of falconry. At the same time, it is worth remembering that the falcon must spend a lot of time with the one who will carry out the training, since these birds become attached to only one person and do not allow outsiders to approach them.