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Are Owls Intelligent?

We’ve all heard the lore about the “wise old owl” bestowing his knowledge upon others, but is there any truth to it? Are owls actually smart?

Sadly, most owls are not particularly intelligent. Birds are not very smart in general, and most owls actually fall into the lower range of bird intelligence.

It is thought by some that the reason for the belief that owls are smart comes from the placement of their eyes. Their binocular vision, with eyes in the front of their heads, is similar to primates and other highly intelligent animals.

There are, however, some uncommonly smart birds, such as crows and ravens. The latter of which has even been known to solve simple puzzles and use basic tools to get at food.

Home › Birds › Owls › Are Owls Intelligent?

Comments

  1. Hannah says

    April 21, 2015 at 9:46 am

    This is incorrect. Birds, generally, are not unintelligent. Corvids, icterids, and other such species of birds are not “uncommonly intelligent”, as it has been known that these species, as well as others, are among the most intelligent other nonhuman animals. However, owls, as well as many other raptors, are usually less intelligent than their passerine relatives.

    Reply
    • Kyra Schefter says

      April 11, 2016 at 10:33 am

      So true. If you want proof, read a book called “wesley the owl” ☺

      Reply
    • jussi says

      May 19, 2016 at 8:37 am

      I agree with you, Hannah. I had a number of cockatiels and parakeets and can definitely say based on my experience and observation that birds can be highly intelligent and loving.

      Reply
  2. Bob says

    February 20, 2019 at 7:38 am

    they stoopid

    Reply
  3. Lino Pugliari says

    April 24, 2019 at 2:47 am

    Who is the idiot who wrote that birds are not intelligent? Remove this sad piece of bad information from the internet ASAP.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tu-whit, tu-who: a street owl near Sanllehy | Barcelona Street Scraps says:
    September 3, 2013 at 8:49 am

    […] Casa Vicens (no photo available). Though owls are typically a symbol of wisdom and intelligence, this bit of popular wisdom seems to be just that, with no basis in science. This myth has been reinforced throughout history, most recently by the […]

    Reply

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