When you think about all of the animals in the world, you quickly realize that birds are, in fact, amongst some of the most intelligent creatures we have on Earth. Although there are more than 10,000 bird species worldwide, only a handful of them have made the list for extremely talented and incredibly intelligent. So who are these super intelligent feathered friends? It’s not easy to really say who is number one or number 2, or to choose the smartest and brightest of them all. But this blog gives you a overview, of what birds have made the top of the list in most bird intelligence studies around the world. So sit back and be amazed how smart some of our feathered friends really are!


Crows
When it comes to intelligence, Crows should probably be at the top of the list, or close to it. Many scientists think that corvids - the family of birds that includes crows, ravens, rooks and jays - just may be among the most intelligent animals on earth. This intelligent rating is based on their ability to solve problems, make tools as well as consider both future events and other individuals' states of mind. In addition to Crows making customize tools, they understand causality, can reason, count up to five and remember human faces. In Israel, Wild Hooded Crows actually use bread crumbs to catch fish. In Norway and Sweden they have been seen dragging fishing lines out of water to get the hooked fish. They are second only to humans in intelligence — even smarter than apes in some research tests. And what’s also impressive is that their brain-to-body weight ratio is equal to that of the great apes and cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and just slightly lower than in humans.


Kea
The Kea has been enlisted by many as the worlds most intelligent bird among top ten intelligent birds. The Kea is found in New Zealand and it is basically a parrot. This extremely intelligent bird knows how to be very crafty when it comes to finding or stealing food.The troublesome native parrot, is known as the 'Clown of the Alps’ and can cause havoc with many things (especially cars) and has proved to be as clever as some of the smartest animals on the planet. In some intelligence tests carried out by a Canterbury University masters student, kea outscored gibbons - and anthropoid apes which are part of the primate family.


Ravens
This beautiful bird is in the same genus (Corvus) as crows and just are about equally smart. They’re known for their ability to understand cause and how to solve complicated problems. Although crows have a reputation for having a playful behavior, ravens are also playful. They’re also very smart and cooperative hunters that often work in pairs — one used to distract their prey while the other grabs an egg or newborn animal. One researcher reported seeing a raven carry away a large block of frozen suet by using his beak to carve a circle around the entire chunk he wanted.

African Grey
Their best-known party trick, talking of course, mimicking human speech.
But it seems these parrots have other, less obvious intelligence that can rival 5 -year-old children. The African Grey are always thinking and a study has found that these creatures are capable of cool intelligent reasoning to the same level as a four-year-old child.
Tests also showed that an African grey was capable working out the location of hidden food by using the kind of deduction and elimination skills previously seen only in humans and apes. And as you probably have herd, they are exceptional talkers.


Macaws
They are considered to be among the most intelligent of all birds. They have comical personalities but are also one of the most affectionate. Macaws come in a variety of beautiful colors and sizes, The most common are the large macaws such as; the Blue and Gold macaw, which are fun-loving, playful and full of personality, the Scarlet macaw, which tend to be sensitive and prefer their immediate family, the Greenwinged macaw, are on of the most intelligent Macaws and can be very social. The Military macaws are larger and their personality is very similar to a blue and gold macaw. The Red-fronted macaws are smaller than the others, but can be very comical and the most majestic of them all are the Hyacinth macaw, which can be 4 feet in length, making them the largest of the parrot family.


Cockatoo
Cockatoos are recognizable by the showy crests and curved bills. These extremely social birds have endearing personalities and great speaking abilities. As a part of their extreme intelligence, is their ability to imitate a wide variety of sounds and speech. But more than that, when scientists performed intelligent tests with the captive bred Goffin's cockatoo they learned they are able to actually resist the temptation of eating a food item put in front of them in order to trade it for a better reward later.
This reaction mirrored a famous experiment in the U.S. 40 years ago when nursery school children were put in a room and given a marshmallow, biscuit or pretzel stick. They could either eat it right away or wait 15 minutes and get an extra treat. On average they are larger than most other parrots.



Amazon Parrots
When it comes to being a smart bird, the amazon parrots are at the top. There are many varieties but they all share equal intellectual capabilities. For hundreds of years, Amazon Parrots have been kept as pets, primarily because of their supreme intelligence and talking ability. These birds are extremely vocally talented, playful and affectionate. Amazons have the ability to learn to mimic speech so clearly that their words can barely be discerned from those of an actual human. In addition to speech, Amazon parrots can also be trained to perform a variety of complex tricks and tasks. It's easy to see why these impressive birds are so sought after as pets and have been companions to humans for centuries.
Varieties include: The Blue-Fronted Amazon which is native to South America. They require human interaction to learn talking. These birds have tendencies to bond with one person and they mimic human voices only if properly socialized. The Yellow-crowned Amazon is found in the rain forests of North and South America and are affectionate and can be excellent talkers. However, some of this species never talk as it depends upon factors like environment and how often they interact with humans. The Yellow-naped Amazon is recognized for imitating human speech and copying a wide range of words. They will begin talking at a young age and learn words and phrases from their owners. They are a one human bird, bonding and learning from that single owner. The Eclectus Parrot, native to New Guinea, is vivid green in color and the female is red and purple. Like many other species listed, the Eclectus can be taught tricks and make excellent companions. Known for its clarity of voice and even learning entire songs, this bird loves socialization and playtime and is a bird which develops a strong bond with its owner.


Jays
Jays are boisterous, energetic and noticeably intelligent and a favorite with many backyard birdwatchers. Scrub-jays are the only animal besides humans who actually plan their actions based on how they may feel in the future. For instance, studies have shown they will plan what kind of food they’ll want for breakfast the next morning, how much and where they will get it. Then they store away the right amount, in the right place. Another example of their superb intelligence was with a captive Blue Jay who actually used paper from the bottom of his cage as a tool to reach food outside of his cage. When other jays saw this, they soon were using the same method. There are around 40 species of jays in the world. Eight inhabit the U.S:


Now, this list doesn't cover every smart bird in the world, and can be argued by some on its order of “who’s the smartest”. But we hope you have learned a little about some of the worlds most intelligent birds and the ones that have been getting the most praise by the world’s leading bird researchers.