Parrots and the
The Australian magpie is one of the cleverest birds on earth.
The common magpie is one of the most intelligent birds—and one of the most intelligent animals to exist. Their brain-to-body-mass ratio is outmatched only by that of humans and equals that of aquatic mammals and great apes.
With that kind of thinking, crows and ravens and their related kin species certainly get my vote as the most intelligent birds on the planet. Reprinted from Canadian Wildlife magazine.
The American Crow, however, is just the smartest in a whole family of whip-smart birds. They're in the family Corvidae, which consists of ravens, rooks, jays, nutcrackers, magpies, jackdaws, choughs, and treepies.
The Australian magpie, Cracticus tibicen, is conspicuously "pied", with black and white plumage reminiscent of a Eurasian magpie. It is a member of the family Artamidae and not a corvid.
Our canine friends are not nearly as clever as chimpanzees or dolphins. They rank in a similar way to cats, goats and pigs. And depressingly, in some ways, they aren't as smart as birds like pigeons and magpies.
African Greys: Generally considered the most intelligent talking bird species, with speaking/thinking abilities comparable to human toddlers, the Timneh Grey parrot typically learns to talk earlier in life than the Congo African Grey.
1. Kakapo. Kakapos are the dumbest birds in the world! Kakapo birds, also known as owl parrots, are commonly found in New Zealand.
An uncommon alternative name for the Australian Magpie is Flute Bird. The magpie can mimic over 35 species of native and introduced bird species, as well as other animal calls, such as those of dogs and horses.
Mature magpies have dull red eyes, in contrast to the yellow eyes of currawongs and white eyes of Australian ravens and crows. The main difference between the subspecies lies in the "saddle" markings on the back below the nape. Black-backed subspecies have a black saddle and white nape.
Interesting fact: It's true, magpies remember your face. They have excellent recall for faces and very long memories. So, if you've been swooped before, or even if you just look like someone they swooped last year, you're likely to get the same treatment again.
Who is it? The owl, of course! Owls are birds of prey known as raptors. Like all raptors, owls have sharp beaks and strong claws — called talons — that they use to catch and eat other animals for food.
Their main diet in summer is grassland invertebrates, such as beetles, flies, caterpillars, spiders, worms and leatherjackets. In winter, they eat more plant material, such as wild fruits, berries and grains, with household scraps and food scavenged from bird tables or chicken runs, pet foods etc.
Cats and dogs can solve relatively complex problems, but they can't make and use tools. In this respect, you could say a crow is smarter that Fido and Fluffy. If your pet is a parrot, its intelligence is as sophisticated as a crow's. Yet, intelligence is complicated and difficult to measure.
Pictured above, Terence Tao is said to have the highest IQ score in the world currently, with an impressive score of between 225-230. If the Chinese-American mathematician scored 230 he is definitely out in front. Effectively tying for the title, though, is Marilyn Vos Savant.
Any cnidarians outside the Cubozoa. They have no brains and thus no measurable IQ either.
Songbirds and parrots are the two groups of birds able to learn and mimic human speech. However, it has been found that the mynah bird, part of the starling family, can also be conditioned to learn and create human speech. Pet birds can be taught to speak by their owners by mimicking their voice.
Considered by many to be the smartest of the talking birds, the African grey parrot can expand its vocabulary of hundreds of words. These birds are known for their exceptional understanding and imitation of human speech.
The rooster is the best-known of the loudest birds. It doesn't chirp so much as a crow, though. Some roosters crow at only around 90 decibels, the same as a barking dog, but others can crow around or reach up to 130 decibels.
Chimpanzees
We share 99 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees, so it comes as no surprise that countless hours of research have been dedicated to understanding the intelligence and behavior of our sister species. This research has firmly established that chimps are one of the most intelligent species on earth.
One for sorrow, two for mirth, Three for a wedding, four for a birth.
The great apes are considered the smartest creatures after humans. Of course, humans are biased in this regard, but the intellectual capacity of the great apes is difficult to deny. After all, we share over 96 percent of the same DNA. Orangutans stand out as being especially gifted in the brains department.