Why do people see parrots as unintelligent?

Rico_Tiel

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2022
1,817
Media
2
2,189
Ur mom’s car
Parrots
Ricochet - Cockatiel
Cricket - Budgie
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

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2022
1,031
1,761
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Parrots
2 female budgies i have a green named tofu she is 1 years old(she turned one years old in April) and i have a blue budgie named sky she is the younger one she is younger then tofu by a few days
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🤣🤣🤣


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

Supporting Member
Jul 10, 2015
17,643
10,007
Western, Michigan
Parrots
DYH Amazon
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

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 9, 2022
1,847
5,851
Indiana, USA
Parrots
Ona: Dilute Green Cheek Conure
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

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Nov 22, 2015
11,383
Media
14
Albums
2
12,567
Isle of Long, NY
Parrots
Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
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.
 
OP
Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2022
1,817
Media
2
2,189
Ur mom’s car
Parrots
Ricochet - Cockatiel
Cricket - Budgie
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
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

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2022
1,031
1,761
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Parrots
2 female budgies i have a green named tofu she is 1 years old(she turned one years old in April) and i have a blue budgie named sky she is the younger one she is younger then tofu by a few days
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.
 
OP
Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2022
1,817
Media
2
2,189
Ur mom’s car
Parrots
Ricochet - Cockatiel
Cricket - Budgie
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
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🤣🤣🤣


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!
 

MayMaroa

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2022
1,031
1,761
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Parrots
2 female budgies i have a green named tofu she is 1 years old(she turned one years old in April) and i have a blue budgie named sky she is the younger one she is younger then tofu by a few days
OP
Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2022
1,817
Media
2
2,189
Ur mom’s car
Parrots
Ricochet - Cockatiel
Cricket - Budgie
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
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...
 

MayMaroa

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2022
1,031
1,761
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Parrots
2 female budgies i have a green named tofu she is 1 years old(she turned one years old in April) and i have a blue budgie named sky she is the younger one she is younger then tofu by a few days
What pets are you interested in and you wanna get, other than birds?
 

wrench13

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Nov 22, 2015
11,383
Media
14
Albums
2
12,567
Isle of Long, NY
Parrots
Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
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.
 
OP
Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2022
1,817
Media
2
2,189
Ur mom’s car
Parrots
Ricochet - Cockatiel
Cricket - Budgie
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #17
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

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2022
1,031
1,761
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Parrots
2 female budgies i have a green named tofu she is 1 years old(she turned one years old in April) and i have a blue budgie named sky she is the younger one she is younger then tofu by a few days
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.
 
OP
Rico_Tiel

Rico_Tiel

Well-known member
Oct 21, 2022
1,817
Media
2
2,189
Ur mom’s car
Parrots
Ricochet - Cockatiel
Cricket - Budgie
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #19
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
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5918.JPG
    IMG_5918.JPG
    191.9 KB · Views: 28
  • IMG_4746.JPG
    IMG_4746.JPG
    215.1 KB · Views: 28
  • IMG_5860.JPG
    IMG_5860.JPG
    179.8 KB · Views: 29
  • IMG_3054.JPG
    IMG_3054.JPG
    525 KB · Views: 27
  • GEDC0144.JPG
    GEDC0144.JPG
    545.7 KB · Views: 27
  • GEDC0474.JPG
    GEDC0474.JPG
    244.3 KB · Views: 28
  • GEDC0682.JPG
    GEDC0682.JPG
    252.5 KB · Views: 29
  • IMG_7193.JPG
    IMG_7193.JPG
    228.9 KB · Views: 27
  • GEDC0648.JPG
    GEDC0648.JPG
    610.2 KB · Views: 28
  • GEDC0647.JPG
    GEDC0647.JPG
    416.6 KB · Views: 28
  • GEDC0217 - Copy.JPG
    GEDC0217 - Copy.JPG
    455.6 KB · Views: 27
  • GEDC0243.JPG
    GEDC0243.JPG
    188.3 KB · Views: 28
  • GEDC0247.JPG
    GEDC0247.JPG
    192.8 KB · Views: 29
  • GEDC0233.JPG
    GEDC0233.JPG
    358.5 KB · Views: 26
  • GEDC0274.JPG
    GEDC0274.JPG
    411 KB · Views: 26
  • GEDC0144.JPG
    GEDC0144.JPG
    545.7 KB · Views: 27
  • GEDC0187.JPG
    GEDC0187.JPG
    597.5 KB · Views: 29
  • GEDC0217.JPG
    GEDC0217.JPG
    455.6 KB · Views: 31
  • GEDC0188.JPG
    GEDC0188.JPG
    397.1 KB · Views: 27
  • GEDC0243.JPG
    GEDC0243.JPG
    188.3 KB · Views: 28

MayMaroa

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2022
1,031
1,761
Putrajaya, Malaysia
Parrots
2 female budgies i have a green named tofu she is 1 years old(she turned one years old in April) and i have a blue budgie named sky she is the younger one she is younger then tofu by a few days

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top