Top smart birds. The smartest bird. Faros Lighthouse - interesting facts

The smartest birds... Do the feathered inhabitants of our yards, gardens and forests have intelligence? Agree, such a question may sooner or later interest each of us, and probably even in childhood, when they show it on TV huge amount cartoons with talking wise birds.

According to tradition, the smartest bird in the world is the owl. The winning team in the game "What? Where? When?" receives a figurine with her image. But, by the way, scientists, after conducting some research, refuted this fact. According to new data, there are birds in nature that are even smarter and smarter. These primarily include crows. Next come falcons, hawks and herons. At the lowest stage of development, interestingly, are nightjars, ostriches and quails.

The smartest birds. Common crows

Crows live in flocks, mainly in Eurasia, Africa and North America. They choose a partner once and for life. These smartest birds settle in nests where they lay 3-5 eggs. Crows are very caring parents; together they raise their offspring, protecting them from all kinds of enemies.

These birds eat almost everything, but they prefer carrion. They can often be found in garbage dumps. Crows are not averse to eating rodents, chicks, and fish.

People are keeping these free-ranging birds as pets more and more often. This is understandable; they are easier than others to teach various commands, for example, to serve cutlery or remove hats from guests. If you carefully educate ravens, they grow into extremely obedient and devoted birds.

In Japan, there are cases where crows, waiting on the side of the road for a red traffic light, laid walnuts on the roadway. Then they waited for the signal to change, after which they took away the split kernels.

Scientists have proven that crows have their own language. Moreover, birds from different areas have separate dialects, and it is difficult for them to understand each other. Their brains are recognized as more developed than those of many mammals. In the list of planets, crows are in sixth place.

The smartest birds. Unique owls

These birds are unique in their own way. Birds settle in pairs and remain faithful to each other for many years. There are known cases of them attacking people. Only they have asymmetrically located outer ears. Due to this, they determine the location of the sound source with an error of no more than a degree. The structure of the neck of these birds is such that they are able to turn their heads almost 270°. This compensates for their limited ability to see in three dimensions.

Because owls are considered nocturnal predators, many people mistakenly think that they can see in the dark. This is not true: in fact, birds respond to sound and movement. In addition, when flying, they make virtually no noise, thanks to the unique feathers on their wings. All this gives them huge advantages during hunting.

Most large bird The Eurasian eagle owl is considered to be a member of the owl family. The bird's height can reach 75 cm with a weight of 4.5 kg. Peruvian is recognized as the smallest. It is the size of a sparrow and weighs only 30 g.

Few birds are able to hunt during the day, because birds have a special layer of cells in their eyes, which reduces sensitivity to light. But more often, owls sit motionless during the day so that they can allow small birds to approach them.

And finally, I would like to note: purely theoretically, it is simply impossible to unambiguously answer the question of which bird is the smartest. Why? Because, according to experts, each of them adapts to its environment and habitat characteristics: it is unlikely to survive in hot Africa, and ostriches, of course, will not settle in Antarctica.

It is widely believed that the most intelligent bird is the owl. Members of the club “What? Where? When?" They are also convinced of this and therefore present their masters with figurines of crystal owls as a reward.

Only this opinion is most likely a delusion. The roots of this go back to Ancient Rome and Greece, in which the owl was a symbol of wisdom and accompanied the goddess Athena (Minerva) everywhere.

It was from Athens that the wise woman came, appearing in European fables and fairy tales, as well as the emblem symbolizing wisdom - an owl sitting on a stack of books.

The same beliefs existed among the Indians living in North America. They decorated their headdresses with owl feathers to protect and protect them.

But in India, Ancient Egypt, China, Japan, North and Central America, the owl was considered the bird of death. The ancient Egyptians also had an owl among their hieroglyphs, which meant passivity, night, cold and death. They believed that this bird belonged to the kingdom of the night sun, which had already fallen below the horizon and was now crossing the sea of ​​darkness.

In India, the owl was revered. She was considered a messenger of the afterlife, whose calling was to escort souls to the kingdom of the dead. Also for Indians, the owl was the patroness of the night. In Hinduism, the owl adorned the emblem of Yama, who was the lord of the underworld.

The Aztecs and Mayans identified the owl with a demonic night creature. This bird promised bad omens. She acted as an attribute of the god of the kingdom of the dead and escorted the souls of the dead to the underworld. The owl was also considered a messenger of death.

The owl in Christianity was a symbol of the forces of darkness, solitude, desolation, sorrow, and bad news. The cry of an owl was also called the song of death. Since the owl is nocturnal and generally a mysterious creature, it is not surprising that it was considered a symbol of witchcraft and evil spirits in general. The owl often appears in paintings where hermits pray. This happens because the owl also symbolizes loneliness. However, since ancient times the owl has been considered wise. In such a hypostasis she is represented in the images of St. Jerome. Another purpose of the owl is an attribute of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life for the sake of people. This is why the owl often appears in crucifixion scenes.

Among the Slavs, the owl was a representative of a group of unclean birds. According to them, she had demonic properties. There were beliefs according to which an owl appearing near a home foreshadowed a fire or death. As for marriage, the owl symbolized an old maid or widow. Also, the owl symbol acted as a talisman. The Slavs also considered this bird to be the keeper of treasures, riches hidden underground, and tear-grass, capable of opening any lock.

Now it’s worth paying attention directly to the life of these birds. The owl has very large eyes and, in connection with this, there was an opinion that it can see perfectly in the dark and it is vision that helps the owl hunt at night. However, scientists, having studied the owl, found that in conditions of absolute darkness, owls see nothing at all. better than people.

For some time there was such a hypothesis: the owl's eye is a kind of special device that detects heat rays. According to this assumption, the owl sees the heat generated by the mouse's body against the background of the cold emanating from the ground. A number of special experiments, the results of which showed that this is not at all the case, the owl does not perceive any heat rays, it does not see not only infrared (thermal) radiation, but does not even perceive or distinguish red light.

Scientists conducted an experiment: they put a mouse and an owl in a dark room. It turned out that the bird cannot see the mouse in the dark. She did not notice it even when the rodent was illuminated in red. The owl finds prey and pounces on it only when the mouse makes sounds or moves.

Scientists have found that the owl's hearing apparatus has a number of structural and functional features. The most interesting thing was that around the owl’s ear hole there is a special plumage that forms a kind of sound-catching horn. This, in turn, leads to an enhanced perception of all sounds. These birds have a large eardrum, its area is approximately 50 square millimeters.

For comparison: in a chicken, this membrane is half the size. In addition to its larger area, the eardrum of owls also has an unusual structure - it is convex and shaped like a tent. Thanks to this, the area becomes larger by 15 percent. Compared to other birds, owls have more complex system sound transmission located in the middle ear. They also have a longer cochlea, which includes a larger number of nerve elements responsible for the perception of sounds, and much more developed auditory nerve centers. One of the main nerve centers of an owl has about 16 - 22 thousand neurons. For comparison: a pigeon has only 3 thousand of them.

Now let's get back to the question, which bird is the smartest? Most people are sure that this is . To prove their point of view, they give two examples of the intelligence of these birds. First, crows can often be found on the side of motorways in Europe. This is due to the fact that soil vibrations created by moving cars, and especially heavy vehicles, causes worms to come to the surface, which are immediately eaten by crows.

In the UK, there have been recorded cases of crows sitting on the backs of pigs or even riding them. In this way, they looked out for mice, which are often found in bedding in barns, but are absolutely not afraid of pigs and do not pay attention to them. Noticing the mouse, the crow quickly jumps off the pig and catches the rodent.

Therefore, people who bring an owl into their home to catch mice should still think about which mousetrap they should choose.

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Mental abilities of ravens

Many people believe that the owl is one of the smartest birds. Its symbol is even awarded to the winners of the intellectual game “What? Where? When?". However, research has refuted the theory that the owl has unique mental abilities. At the same time, ornithologists made the discovery that there are birds that stand out among their fellows in their intelligence and intelligence. The title of “the smartest bird” was awarded to representatives of the raven family (crows, ravens). They are followed by falcons, hawks, woodpeckers and herons. The weakest mental abilities were demonstrated by: ostriches, nightjars, quails.

Crow lifestyle

The common raven (Corvus corax) lives in North America, Africa, and Eurasia. Raven is a flocking bird. Partnerships are created for life. Pairs usually build two nests within the habitat area and live in them alternately for many years. Crows lay 3-5 bluish-greenish eggs. Both parents are involved in raising their offspring. They bravely protect their chicks from their brethren and other predators.

Crows are omnivores, meaning they eat almost anything. Their favorite dish is carrion. That is why they are often collected in landfills and in the area of ​​slaughterhouses, in wildlife they perform the important function of “orderlies”. Crows will not refuse to eat small rodents, fish, insects, eggs, chicks and adult birds; they often finish off sick and wounded animals.

Loyal and smart birds

The raven is a free bird, however, due to its ability to imitate the human voice, it is increasingly kept as a pet. This clever girl can be trained on command, remove hats to guests, and serve cutlery. No other bird can do this. If you raise a crow from childhood, it grows up to be a devoted and very obedient bird.

An amazing case involving crows was described in Japan. These birds were spotted at highway intersections. They stood at the side of the road, waiting for the red traffic light. As soon as it caught fire, they went down to the roadway and placed walnuts on it. Cars drove by, cracking the delicacy, and the crows, waiting for the traffic light to change, collected the fillings of the cracked nuts.

Crow's own tongue

Not long ago it was proven that crows have their own language in which they communicate with each other. There are even dialects of their speech, since crows from one area do not understand their foreign relatives. Chapter research group, Erica Jarvis, is sure that the brain of birds is similar to that of humans. Conducting her scientific research, Jarvis came to the conclusion that the subcortical ganglia in these birds is not a primitive area, but a highly complex information processing center. She is sure that many birds are ahead of some mammals in their cognitive abilities.

Who would have thought that the crow, an annoying, croaking creature familiar to us from childhood, is actually an intelligent and amazing creature! By the way, crows take an honorable 6th place in the list of the smartest animals in the world.

Olga Zhukova, Samogo.Net

The smartest bird

Through a series of experiments, zoologists managed to find out which bird is the smartest. became a crow, since its intellectual abilities exceeded the level of all other individuals of the bird family. The researchers explained that the bird is capable of solving problems that a 3-4 year old child cannot do. In addition, in terms of skills in solving simple tasks, the crow has surpassed not only representatives of its kind, but also occupies a leading position in the ranking of the smartest animals in the world.

So the crow took part in the following experiment. She was given a vessel of water with pieces of food floating on the surface. She could not reach them with her beak. Nearby lay stones of different types and weights. After some time, after trying to get food, the crow showed intelligence - she came up with an alternative way to get food, putting the heaviest stones in a jug. Water containing food rose to the surface and became available for nutrition. Thus, it was possible to establish that the crow evaluates shape and weight various objects the surrounding world: sand, water, air, etc. They also distinguish colors and threats - for example, a weapon in a person’s hands, and take food out of the package before eating.

Crows are trainable along with parrots. They have about 150 words in their vocabulary and they imitate human speech.

The smartest birds in the world: TOP 10

First the place, as we have already found out, is occupied by crows due to their exceptional intellectual abilities.

Second Parrots take the position. In total there are about 300 species. Their most unique ability is copying human speech. They probably understand the meaning of words, since they can respond to the owner’s calls. History has recorded many cases where parrots warned their owners of danger. There is a record-breaking parrot in the USA. He can count to eight. And in New York, a case was recorded when a bird learned to conjugate verbs according to tenses. She distinguishes between animals and chimpanzees in photographs.

On third there is an owl there. It has long symbolized wisdom and intelligence. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered her smart, calling her the companion of the goddess Minerva. The Indians of North America shared the same opinion.

Fourth Turkey occupies a place in the ranking “The smartest birds in the world: TOP-10”. People consider her to be stupid, but in reality she demonstrates high mental abilities. Birds are endowed with character, which they show at every opportunity.

Fifth Falcons take the position. They remember a long journey and use primitive tools, such as wooden sticks, to obtain food.

On sixth there are pigeons in the area. They are known to remember landscapes or drawings and recognize them after many years. The experience of sending carrier pigeons testifies to how well they remember people and the road. The Japanese say that these birds see themselves in the mirror and do it better than young children. Previously, it was believed that only certain species of primates, dolphins and elephants, had such abilities. Residents of London are confident that pigeons use the metro in the city and know the stop and exit point. If he is kicked out of the carriage, he will definitely fly into it through another entrance and get to the designated point.

Seventh The tit takes the place. She has cunning and dexterity.

On eighth position in the ranking is the starling. It can copy the signal sound or melody playing on the phone. A resident of Copenhagen named the bird living in his garden "Nokia" because the starling imitated a mobile phone, making the same sounds.

On planet Earth, undoubtedly, the most intelligent creature is man. We know this with certainty and, of course, we are accustomed to considering all other animals only our smaller brothers. Surely many have heard that there are quite smart animals that, with their behavior, if you observe them, show ingenuity, intelligence, and pity for their dead relatives. Dolphins, elephants, monkeys, dogs and many others. But are there smart birds? Some skeptics will say something like “How many brains do they have that they can think.” But this is far from true. Among the family of birds, there are species that behave quite interestingly in life. They think no worse than animals that are considered endowed with intelligence. Sometimes you even get the impression that these living beings are as intelligent as people.

If you make a list of the five smartest birds, the crow will be in first place. An ordinary crow, which we are so accustomed to. A bird that can often be seen on the roofs of houses in cities, which does not fly away warm regions, and wintering near people’s homes.

A crow can memorize up to 150 words and repeat them just like a parrot. This bird distinguishes colors. Can remove food from packaging that is securely sealed. She understands and quickly retreats when something threatens her. For example, a weapon in the hands of a person. According to recent research, this bird can solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of a four-year-old child. People, for example, saw how a crow, having found a piece of stale bread on the street, carried it into a puddle so that it softened and could be enjoyed. Also, when a bird fails to peck a nut, it throws it on the asphalt from a great height. Or he simply leaves it on the road, waiting until a car passes and crushes the thick crust. There are many such examples.

Second place in the list of the smartest birds rightfully belongs to the parrot. In nature there are several hundred species. The most interesting thing is that when copying a person’s speech, they understand the meaning of some words, as they respond to the calls of the owner. Not only can parrots repeat words, they also copy the sounds of other animals and can hum melodies. There are cases when these birds warned their owners about danger, thereby saving their lives.

In third place are owls. This bird is often depicted on emblems as a symbol of wisdom and intelligence, and this is not without reason. The owl is easy to train and easily recognizes its owner. If you watch how a bird hunts and tracks prey, it immediately becomes clear that its intelligence is at a high level.

Turkeys take fourth place. Many people consider them stupid birds because of the strange sounds they make and the funny nature of them. appearance. But this is not true at all. Turkeys are quite smart. For example, they recognize their owners and have a good memory. When a turkey finds food somewhere, it will never eat it alone, but will definitely share it with its relatives. Birds do not eat spoiled and bad food, unlike chickens. Oddly enough, turkeys have their own character and quirks.

The falcon is in fifth place in the ranking of the smartest birds. The bird is often used for hunting because it is easy to train. In Arab countries, sheikhs buy well-trained falcons for fabulous money. The bird has a good memory and easily remembers the longest journey. Falcons can be vindictive, they trust only their owner and do not allow strangers near them. Bird training is carried out only by very experienced specialists who know their business, because the bird is a predatory bird and can react aggressively to any scream and noise, or to the appearance of another animal.