Are Birds Smart? (Intelligence, Memory + Smartest Species)

Birds are among the most successful vertebrate life forms on Earth. Scientists estimate that there are between 10,000 and 18,000 living species and a staggering 5-430 billion people on each continent and in the skies and oceans between them!

With such high levels of diversity and success, it’s odd that we tend to think of birds as creatures without intelligence.

Ornithologists and even bird breeders have long recognized the intelligence of birds. Observations of birds’ intelligence in the wild and scientific experiments designed to test their limits under controlled conditions reveal just how smart birds are. After all, calling someone a bird brain might not be an insult.

Intelligence is a difficult concept to define, but it can be agreed that it involves awareness and the ability to learn. Many bird species clearly demonstrate the ability to use this awareness and knowledge to plan and solve problems, some species are astounding!

This article explores the intelligence of birds. Read along with us, it just might change the way you see our feathered friends.

Crows are one of the smartest birds

Are birds as smart as humans?

Birds are not as intelligent as the average adult, but studies have shown that they outperform human children on certain mental tasks. For example, a crow is said to be as smart as a seven-year-old, while an African gray parrot may be smarter than a toddler. In fact, birds may be the most intelligent creatures on earth, second only to ourselves.

What makes birds smart?

Birds may have small brains, but that doesn’t mean our feathered friends aren’t smart. In fact, bird brains contain a similar number of neurons as mammalian brains, just at a much higher density per unit volume. The ratio of brain size to body size is also thought to be more important than absolute brain size. Corvids have larger brains than most mammals, even those of primates.

Bird brains are arranged slightly differently than ours, leading early scientists to make some mistakes when piecing together how they evolved.

A closer look at a bird’s brain reveals a large forebrain, the region responsible for interpreting sensory data. A well-developed hippocampus enables them to store this information as memory.

The smartest birds tend to be social species that can communicate and learn from others. In some cases, birds have the potential to live for many years or even decades. A long lifespan combined with a powerful brain and ability to learn and gather information makes some birds very intelligent indeed!

Read on to learn more about the brightest (and darkest) birds in the world.

Corvids have larger brains than most mammals

What is the smartest bird?

The smartest bird may be the New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides). These remarkable birds have demonstrated the ability to create and use tools in a variety of ways, both in the wild and during experimental tasks.

New Caledonian crows are capable of building different tools for different jobs, and can even connect two or more components to create composite tools. They also have the ability to plan ahead. These intelligent crows have been shown to select a tool for future use to access a large food source, rather than settle for immediate gratification with a small amount.

New Caledonian crows aren’t the only intelligent birds, however. Read on to learn more about the world’s smartest birds.

The smartest bird may be the New Caledonian crow

Corvidae

The crow family is often known for their high IQs. This family includes well-known birds such as crows, crows, magpies and jays.

Crows have been especially observed to learn who is friend and who is foe. They also hold grudges and have fond memories!

Parrots, Macaws and Cockatoos

No discussion of intelligent birds would be complete without mentioning parrots. Not all birds in the parrot family display high intelligence, but well-known species such as the African gray parrot are listed among the most intelligent birds in the world.

Parrots are not only excellent imitators, they have also been shown to recognize shapes and sizes, and even count. Their intelligence has been compared with that of 4-year-old children.

However, intelligent birds come in many different forms. Some other notable bird brains include:

• Asian striped herons use floating baits to lure fish to surprising distances.
• Woodpecker finches from the Galapagos Islands use brambles to extract insect larvae from tree crevices.
• Egyptian vultures use stones as tools to crack large eggs.

African gray parrots are among the smartest birds in the world

What is the least intelligent bird?

We tend to focus on praising the most intelligent birds, but rarely mention those species that are on the other end of the intelligence scale. We’re not sure, but many suspect that emus are the least intelligent birds in the world. Other contenders for the ignominious title include ostriches, quails, turkeys and great bustards.

Emus are considered one of the least intelligent birds

Do birds have big brains?

The brain size of birds varies from species to species. The award for the biggest brain in the bird world goes to emperor penguins in Antarctica. Their brains have a respectable mass of 44 grams.

There is some correlation between brain size and intelligence, but this remains a controversial hypothesis. Birds can house as many neurons as some monkeys, just in a much smaller size, research shows.

Hummingbirds are tiny birds, so it makes sense that they would have correspondingly small brains weighing just 0.167 grams. While this sounds small, hummingbird brains are actually quite large compared to their bodies.

In fact, the researchers found that, relative to body size, hummingbird brains are about two and a half times larger than those of chicken-shaped (chicken-like) birds.

Emperor penguins have the biggest brains of any bird

Do birds have good memories?

Many birds have excellent memories. Birds such as jays and nuthatches are known for their habit of storing food. This behavior is known as caching, and it allows birds to store food for later in the day or even a year. These birds need to remember where they store their food, and this is where a good memory really comes in handy.

Fortunately, birds have a well-developed hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial memory.

The tufted tit is an American songbird with an incredible memory. These little birds can remember the location of thousands of stored food sources.

Researchers studying this species have concluded that the mechanisms responsible for its memory are similar to those of mammals, and that memory abilities in other birds vary depending on the typical behavior of their species.

In other words, birds that don’t need to remember where food is stored will have poorer memories than birds that remember food.

Close up of a tufted tit perched

However, birds’ memory doesn’t just extend to hidden food sources. Crows can also remember faces. They can remember the faces of those who helped them, as well as the faces of those who hurt them.

This was demonstrated in an experiment in which researchers wore masks to trap crows and then released them. The crow still remembers the masked “villain” and takes the initiative to avoid it.

The most intriguing part of this study is that the crows in the study area passed the warning on to their offspring, so much so that the mask remained horrifying generations after the original bird died!

Closeup of American Crow

Bird Intelligence FAQs

Are birds smarter than dogs?

The smartest birds, like crows and some parrots, are probably smarter than dogs. Of course, it really depends on the criteria you use to compare the two.

Can birds count?

Birds can certainly count. Birds such as pigeons, parrots, and robins have all shown this ability. Scientific experiments as far back as the mid-1900s have shown that birds are able to count objects and events.

Can talking birds understand what they are saying?

Many birds, including parrots, crows, and even starlings, can speak human speech with great accuracy and clarity. This behavior is imitation rather than language, and birds often do not understand the meaning of the sounds they make. Birds, however, can make associations between words and objects if trained.