Why do people see parrots as unintelligent?

[Rico_Tiel]

serious question. people think dogs are smarter which baffles me! pigs are smarter than dogs!

when someone sees a dog do a trick, they are amazed and call the dog smart, but when they see a parrot do the same, they often see it as just a trick.

when you tell someone, a dog is smart, they agree, but when you do the same with an animal with the emotional and cognitive intelligence of a 3+ year old human, they act like you are a mere fool. it just annoys the life out of me and makes me want to claw out my eyes and eat them! why can't people just give psittacines (ESPECIALLY the small ones!) the credit they deserve?

 

[MayMaroa]

All i can say is they haven't met a bird.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

All i can say is they haven't met a bird.

this is actually a simple and logical answer.

why did I not think of that? maybe it's because I am denser than metal osmium lol

 

[MayMaroa]

Yeah, personally my bird sky acts like a dog and tofu acts like a wise cat, I thought before I got birds that they are just a decor and stay in a beautiful cages but after I got them all I thought is they are a handful!!! they are the best here are some of the adorable or mischievous actions that they did.

whenever my birds want to bite something they do these sounds its adorable!!!

Tofu in the background

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

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and they are the BEST study partner

you see how she follows the mouse she still doesnt till now.

and this is on topic of how smart birds are!!!

and people yet say birds are Dumb

All i can say is they haven't met a bird.- unknown bird owner

 

[SailBoat]

The sad truth is that education has not occurred in North America since the 1990's and the results are the ability of educated weather experts to understand basic weather realities has gone the way of anything better than guessing what the weather is going to be next week and is now down to 24 to maybe 36 hours!

So, to the current question: Guess when the 'general belief' was that dogs and cats were much smarter than Pigs let alone Birds. Answer: The 1990's.

 

[onamom]

I've just come to accept the fact that MOST animals are hugely misunderstood. Not just parrots. I think a lot of people just don't understand animals, period. That's my perspective as someone who volunteers at a humane society in North America. Parrots specifically I think there is a big misconception out there that they are just "easy" pets, like a fish. Most people just don't know how emotional and intelligent they are. I think part of that is how readily available some species are at PetsMart etc. Then you get a lot of uneducated employees (not all! but they are there) selling birds and not knowing anything about them, giving misinformation. There is a very sad lack of education out there when it comes to animals: how to treat them, how they are emotional and intelligent, etc.

 

[wrench13]

IMHO - animals, regardless of species, have the same bell shaped curves as humans when it comes to intelligence. Example, my last dog a Jack Russel was so smart, if I could have come up with the tools she would have built me a new house. My current dog, a Cairne terrier is as dumb as a fence post. Both species are supposed to be 'smart'. So there are parrots on the right side of the curve, who are exceptionally intelligent, average smart ones and the ones on the left side of the curve, the not so smart ones. In the wild the average and smart ones survive to breed, the not so smart ones......... well, nature is red in tooth and claw. But in captivity they all get to breed.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I've just come to accept the fact that MOST animals are hugely misunderstood. Not just parrots. I think a lot of people just don't understand animals, period. That's my perspective as someone who volunteers at a humane society in North America. Parrots specifically I think there is a big misconception out there that they are just "easy" pets, like a fish. Most people just don't know how emotional and intelligent they are. I think part of that is how readily available some species are at PetsMart etc. Then you get a lot of uneducated employees (not all! but they are there) selling birds and not knowing anything about them, giving misinformation. There is a very sad lack of education out there when it comes to animals: how to treat them, how they are emotional and intelligent, etc.

yeah, I suppose you're right. it's unfortunate. it's just infuriating and braincell evaporating when people talk out of their rears about animals without any research.

I was recently arguing with someone over parrot intelligence, they asked for links, I provided 12 of them, and they literally said "not reading all that" like, WHAT?!

also, fish are tough pets to keep! expensive, sensitive, and can die from a crashed cycle or a not cycled tank, they can just die from a food with ammonia in it

 

[MayMaroa]

also, fish are tough pets to keep! expensive, sensitive, and can die from a crashed cycle or a not cycled tank, they can just die from a food with ammonia in it

As a person who owned fish and hamsters before surprisingly fish are much more work and their care are much more Expensive! than hamsters.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Yeah, personally my bird sky acts like a dog and tofu acts like a wise cat, I thought before I got birds that they are just a decor and stay in a beautiful cages but after I got them all I thought is they are a handful!!! they are the best here are some of the adorable or mischievous actions that they did.

whenever my birds want to bite something they do these sounds its adorable!!!

Tofu in the background

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

and they are the BEST study partner

you see how she follows the mouse she still doesnt till now.

and this is on topic of how smart birds are!!!

and people yet say birds are Dumb

All i can say is they haven't met a bird.- unknown bird owner

aww those vids are so cute!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

As a person who owned fish and hamsters before surprisingly fish are much more work and their care are much more Expensive! than hamsters.

yeah! I want to keep fish but tbh I probs wont until im like, 30

 

[MayMaroa]

aww those vids are so cute!

Thanks

yeah! I want to keep fish but tbh I probs wont until im like, 30

I Agree, the next I'm gonna get fish again is probably like 27 or 28 something like that

 

[Rico_Tiel]

The sad truth is that education has not occurred in North America since the 1990's and the results are the ability of educated weather experts to understand basic weather realities has gone the way of anything better than guessing what the weather is going to be next week and is now down to 24 to maybe 36 hours!

So, to the current question: Guess when the 'general belief' was that dogs and cats were much smarter than Pigs let alone Birds. Answer: The 1990's.

ah, NA, the land of bad education...

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Thanks

I Agree, the next I'm gonna get fish again is probably like 27 or 28 something like that

good thinking lol

 

[MayMaroa]

What pets are you interested in and you wanna get, other than birds?

 

[wrench13]

FOr me personally, I've had just about every legal reptile (and some not so much), when I was much younger. Snakes up the wazoo, turtles, tortoises, chameleons, lizards, salamanders, and some I can't even remember. Snakes were the easiest pet to keep for sure. Keep 'em warm, feed 'em once in a while, and change the water. Heck we had a big python who didn't for almost a year!! Got free rats and mice from the local college bio dept, so easy AND cheap. But like all reptiles, pretty much devoid of personality. I've had cats and dogs, and even a horse. Almost had a pig and a goat! I'd like to try a marsupial but at my age, a new type of pet is not in the cards.

Besides, I love Salty too much to dilute the attention I can give him with a new pet or companion.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

What pets are you interested in and you wanna get, other than birds?

oh man, a whole zoo! ferrets, Sugar Gliders (sadly not legal here), tetras, loaches, bettas, rasboras, and gouramis, jewel beetles, large beetles, scorpions, pythons, giant centipedes, rats, rabbits, pigeons and finches (yes, ik those are birds lol), an axolotl, and leopard geckos! the ones I'll most likely get is the pigeons, fish, and rats though

 

[MayMaroa]

Oh dear!!! My family calls me an addicted animal lover but I never reached that point!!! and by the way, I'm gonna tease you, sugar gliders are legal here I have sometimes thought of getting one but PARENTS.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Oh dear!!! My family calls me an addicted animal lover but I never reached that point!!! and by the way, I'm gonna tease you, sugar gliders are legal here I have sometimes thought of getting one but PARENTS.

ARGH! at least I see auroras often and get pretty pics

 

[MayMaroa]

ARGH! at least I see auroras often and get pretty pics

Ok, now I'm jealous!!! I've always wanted to go to Iceland to see those beautiful lights