Do you notice your birds are differently intelligent?

Jottlebot

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Aug 29, 2012
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Orange-winged Amazon - RIP Charlie,
Spock - Common Mynah,
McCoy - Alexandrine
Hi, just wondering what you think about this? I've only had a quick look online, but it seems to focus on talking as a measurement of intelligence, which I'm not really interested in.

I have an Alexandrine and had an OWA in the past. My Alexandrine is not a stupid bird by any means, but he just doesn't seem to have the sharp intelligence that Charlie had. An example would be if I cover a treat with something right in front of him, he seems to forget about it! Charlie would never have been confused by this!
 

plumsmum2005

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Fly free Plum, my gorgeous boy.
No bird is stupid and their intelligence differs from species to species and also from individual parrots of the same species.

For example my Plum is a good talker, he knows a collection of words and uses them very well to express what he wants. My friends parrot, his knowledge of words is less but he is dead sharp with tricks. You just love them for what they are, don't you?
 
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Jottlebot

Jottlebot

Member
Aug 29, 2012
507
14
Shropshire, UK
Parrots
Orange-winged Amazon - RIP Charlie,
Spock - Common Mynah,
McCoy - Alexandrine
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No bird is stupid and their intelligence differs from species to species and also from individual parrots of the same species.

For example my Plum is a good talker, he knows a collection of words and uses them very well to express what he wants. My friends parrot, his knowledge of words is less but he is dead sharp with tricks. You just love them for what they are, don't you?


Don't get me wrong I adore him!!! Totally and utterly!!! I'm not linking intelligence and how much I/we should love our birds!

It interests me though that different species have developed intelligence for different tasks. I wondered if there is a strong species pattern or if individual differences between each bird is stronger?
 

Kiwibird

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Jul 12, 2012
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1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
I think they, much like humans, just have different skills they excel at and skills they don't do so well at. Hide a treat in a foraging toy for my moms DYH and she wouldn't be able to solve it and would likely not even realize the treat was in there or that there was a puzzle to solve. Kiwi, on the other hand, looses his poop over puzzle toys and only has to solve a puzzle toy once and he remembers how he did it forever! Lucy is a very affectionate bird with preferred humans, she is a skilled flyer, she vocalizes a lot. Kiwi is none of those things. BFAs and DYHs are very similar genetically, but still vary by individual.

Of course, just because a bird is lacking in one skill doesn't mean they don't make up for it with other skills!
 

ParrotLover2001

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Dec 20, 2016
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A cockatiel, a bourke, and three budgies
Opal definitely isn't the brightest bird I've had, took her while to learn that she couldn't fly out the cage door while it was opened. She paced in froint of it, wanting to come out, she also flys into walls, she hits the refrigerator, she flies into one room and can't find her way out even though there are 2 doors that are open. But I still love her nonetheless! She also is not friendly toward me, but I love her.

I have yet to unlock Opal's full potential. Just because she's a budgie doesn't mean she isn't intelligent. My past budgies could solve puzzles, do fun tricks, and Clicky could do loops while flying (which I taught her to do) and Clicky could master tricks in 5-10 minutes. She was a very smart budgie.

Sent from my Galaxy s8
 

FlyBirdiesFly

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Kermit and Ducky are super eager to please and can both learn tricks in 10 minutes. Bluebell, on the other hand, simply does not care about me and probably could do tricks if she wanted to, but just doesn't show any interest in pleasing me. As to Opal flying into windows, it's not because she's dumb, it's because she's probably been clipped before fledging and doesn't have very good flight skills.
 

Sandy19

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Well Peanut is a few peas short of a casserole, but she's very loveable towards me and I have an easy time getting her to do tricks like rolling over. I don't think she's ever going to talk though.
 

SailBoat

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Jul 10, 2015
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DYH Amazon
Hi, just wondering what you think about this? I've only had a quick look online, but it seems to focus on talking as a measurement of intelligence, which I'm not really interested in.

I have an Alexandrine and had an OWA in the past. My Alexandrine is not a stupid bird by any means, but he just doesn't seem to have the sharp intelligence that Charlie had. An example would be if I cover a treat with something right in front of him, he seems to forget about it! Charlie would never have been confused by this!

As a foundation, one must always remember that near everything about Birds is based around or fully supports 'Flying.' In addition, there is two very different groups: Small family clusters and large flocks. The effects of just these two factors can greatly effect the differences between one Species and another. Social groups made up of small families of up to four generations will have totally different interaction skills and foraging skills than a flock species.

Amazons, as a group are found in that small family groupings that highly prize long memories and a wide cross-section individual skills.

That said, the Parrots of large flocks relay far less of individual abilities but more group knowledge.

Regarding individuals and then again looking a Amazons and those two wonderful two members of the Amazona family i.e. BFA and DYHA. Both are very intelligent and since I also have enjoyed both, the difference that I see is that DYHA tend not to want to be bothered by puzzles, if brute force cannot get the job done, its not worth their time. As Kiwibird so well noted, BFA's are into puzzles big time! Both will take a cage apart for just the challenge.

So long way to say; There are differences between species and more to the point, whether they are members of a flock or a small group!

Enjoy!
 
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PrimorandMoxi

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May 29, 2015
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New Jersey
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Max (23yo) Blue and Gold Macaw,
&
PRIMOR (8yo) Red Lored Amazon,
&
ABBA (33yo) Red Lored Amazon - RIP
I think my two amazons have a similar level of intelligence.
but
Primor who is ten seems to look at everything with wide eyes.
Aba at thirty-five is more cynical and mistrusting.

But our macaw is somehow more self aware than the amazons, more calculating.
less ruled by instinct...
 

GaleriaGila

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The Rb is not a really smart fellow as far as traditional parrot abilities. I'm sure there is variation within species. Maybe some Patagonians are geniuses. But mine... well...
He is stymied by forage toys, can't figure out the fastest routes from point A to point B when cage perches are changed (I just don't even try to change them anymore); NEVER learns that certain big toys when swung, knock him off his perch (I just take them away). He has his strengths... he's a great mimic, and a real character, but...
When he senses there is training... a challenge... something new... a new item... a problem to be solved... he gets MAD, turns around and will march/fly back into his cage.
No training tolerated.

But he's my boy!
 

LordTriggs

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May 11, 2017
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Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
Rio was pretty intelligent with his words and his flight. He learnt 3 phrases in a month of getting him and he also learnt how to fly straight down a total of 10 feet which at the time I didn't know was hard for them (nobody seemed to tell him either) and how to do a 180 on the spot in the air.

But he did not get foraging toys to save his life! I had a wicker bucket in his cage that I would put treats in and I don't think he ever worked that out. Saying that I got him a foraging wheel that I didn't realize was for a Grey, he seemed to get the gist of it, he definitely bit the handle but he seemed to prefer to climb on top of it and sit happily
 

Crayfish066

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Jul 21, 2017
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Indian Ringneck
I'm not really sure how intelligent my IRN is at the moment because I've only had him for 2 months.
I haven't really taught him any tricks or anything besides the basics like stepping up but I see that
more as obidience based than intelligence based.

I'd like to teach him some tricks but I wouldn't really want to invest a ton of time into something that
wasn't practical, so I'm open to suggestions.
 

wrench13

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Each parrot is an individual, and examples of the same species will show different aptitudes at different activities, with almost none being great at everything. But they all are intelligent and capable of learning. And once you wake that up, and make them aware that they CAN learn new things, just the joy of learning new things rises. Saltys species is not known to be great talkers - yes tell him that, as he greets each family member when he sees them for the first time of the day ( Hi Daddy, Hi Eric, ect) , and will not greet us after that, until the next day. He picks up words by himself, and assigns values to the words , almost always correctly.

So yes, each example has some built in aptitudes, but is capable of learning new ones. All IMHO.
 

wrench13

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I'm not really sure how intelligent my IRN is at the moment because I've only had him for 2 months.
I haven't really taught him any tricks or anything besides the basics like stepping up but I see that
more as obidience based than intelligence based.

I'd like to teach him some tricks but I wouldn't really want to invest a ton of time into something that
wasn't practical, so I'm open to suggestions.

What would you consider practical trick for a parrot? Do your taxes? Memorize your favorite pie recipe ? Pick locks? All would be great tricks, and practical too, but realistically, you start them on simple tricks, until they start to get the fact that doing what you ask for results in treats. Shake hands, giving high 5, turning in circles are all easy first tricks. Then you work your way up to harder ones. Salty's newest trick is picking the Kings out of a deck of cards. Practical only in Las Vegas, I suppose, but pretty hard trick for a parrot.
 

LordTriggs

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What would you consider practical trick for a parrot? Do your taxes? Memorize your favorite pie recipe ? Pick locks?

Now all of those would be pretty handy, especially the taxes! You can get quite a bit of money doing someone else's accounts, they could start paying for their own vet bills!

Now as for lock-picking I'm sure they know how to already, just chew around the lock or chew the lock until it breaks!
 

FlyBirdiesFly

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If your bird knows how to step up, wave is a good trick to start and very cute. Some other simple tricks include wings, turn around, shake hands, recall flying and nodding yes. Trick training is really not that hard, but every bird is an individual. For example, I cannot teach my budgie Bluebell any tricks because she is too stubborn, but my cockatiel and conure both learn tricks in 10 minutes and are "eager to please".
 

Birdman666

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Presently have six Greenwing Macaw (17 yo), Red Fronted Macaw (12 yo), Red Lored Amazon (17 y.o.), Lilac Crowned Amazon (about 43 y.o.) and a Congo African Grey (11 y.o.)
Panama Amazon (1 Y.O.)
Yes. Definitely.

And yet, there are some that are amazingly high IQ at complex tasks...

And others that are high IQ cognitive interaction.

There are also different levels of empathic abilities...
 

Crayfish066

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Do any species besides african greys understand the context of the words they're using?
I have an indian ringneck, he just turned 5 months old so hopefully he should be talking within the next few months if I'm lucky. Does this species simply mimic our words or do they understand what they're saying?
 

LordTriggs

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Rio (Yellow sided conure) sadly no longer with us
Do any species besides african greys understand the context of the words they're using?
I have an indian ringneck, he just turned 5 months old so hopefully he should be talking within the next few months if I'm lucky. Does this species simply mimic our words or do they understand what they're saying?

I'm certain Rio understood. His first time saying "what you doing" I was having a bath, the first bath I had had since I got him (I shower normally) he flew in, landed on the towel rack, looked at me and squeaked out the words. I would say that in lots of different circumstances so he had to understand its meaning.

Who says that little birds can't be intelligent?
 

Crayfish066

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Indian Ringneck
Do any species besides african greys understand the context of the words they're using?
I have an indian ringneck, he just turned 5 months old so hopefully he should be talking within the next few months if I'm lucky. Does this species simply mimic our words or do they understand what they're saying?

I'm certain Rio understood. His first time saying "what you doing" I was having a bath, the first bath I had had since I got him (I shower normally) he flew in, landed on the towel rack, looked at me and squeaked out the words. I would say that in lots of different circumstances so he had to understand its meaning.

Who says that little birds can't be intelligent?

I like how you felt you needed to clarify the bit in bold lol.

I wonder if there's any sort of ranking out there regarding intelligence by species.
 

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