Birds have long been regarded as some of the most intelligent creatures on the planet. The smarter parrots, which are often kept as pets, have been demonstrated to outperform other birds.
African Grey Parrot
Among pet birds, African Grey parrots are the most extensively researched, and they have shown a high degree of intelligence. Alex, one of the most well-known African Greys, died in 2007 at the age of 31. Dr. Pepperberg, a PhD student at the time, bought him from a pet shop when he was one year old and raised him for the rest of his life.
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| African Grey Parrot |
There has been little progress in the field of bird cognition before to Alex's work. People's perceptions of birds' abilities to learn were altered by Alex. Alex's IQ was compared to that of a five-year-old when he died, having learnt over 100 English words over the years.
Even while some have questioned if Alex's powers are more than just the result of training, it's hard to deny that his achievements much beyond those of other pet birds. They now have a reputation for being intelligent and needing continual mental stimulation because of Alex.
Macaws
As with the African Grey, there are other varieties of macaws, including the Hyacinth macaw, the world's longest parrot. This belief is based on the assumption that all parrots and macaws have a similar degree of intellect.
Some macaws have been likened to human toddlers in terms of their intellect. They are able to solve problems, utilize tools, and communicate with other birds using noises and even bodily changes, such as flushing their faces, in order to communicate with one other.
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| Blue Macaws |
After studying 98 distinct bird brains, a Canadian research released in 2018 found that one particular area of a parrot's brain is much larger than the others.
2 Cortex-cerebellum communication occurs in the parrot's brain, which is comparable to that of a monkey, another highly intelligent animal. Spiriform nucleus in parrots is two to five times the size of the corresponding nucleus in chicken. An important region of the brain is considered to be responsible for planning and executing complex actions.
Cockatoos
The cockatoo, often known as a parrot, was the first kind of bird to be spotted constructing instruments of the musical variety. It was noticed in Australia that palm cockatoos were making drumsticks out of twigs and seed pods, while other varieties of cockatiels can swing in time to music.
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| Cockatoos |
Goffin cockatoos, which are little cockatoos, were used to exhibit item persistence in a 2014 research.
3 Permanence of objects is the belief that even if something isn't seen, it is still there. Many researchers use the analogy of a bird's pocket full of nuts to explain object-perception investigations in birds. The ability to solve object-perception puzzles in human infants normally doesn't develop until they are between 18 and 24 months old. 4 The findings that wild Goffin cockatoos had spatial thinking ability equivalent to primates and human newborns came as no surprise.
Budgerigars
The budgerigar, often known as the common parakeet or budgie, is one of the parrot family's smallest members (with the parrotlet being the actual smallest parrot). However, just because a budgie is little does not imply that it lacks intelligence.
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| Budgerigars |
Human children aged seven months and under are the only non-humans who can grasp budgies' knowledge of human language. It has been shown that budgies are capable of picking out abstract patterns by recognizing a certain sequence of meaningless syllables. 5 An sentient creature like the human being has never been found to be capable of such a feat before; the only others were rats, monkeys, and humans.
Conures
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| Conures |
Conures, like the other birds on this list, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they are all parrots. When it comes to cerebral stimulation and enrichment, conures need a lot more than most other birds. A conure needs a lot of exercise, toys, and socialization. All conures, no matter the species, will show you how clever they are, no matter what kind of conure it is.