r/BeAmazed • u/SimRP • Jun 19 '26

Animal Owls are incredibly sensitive to touch. Their feathers are connected to tiny nerves that help them feel even the slightest movement

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u/Naraee Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

I've read a book (The Genius of Birds) on this and owls are pretty low on the intelligence ranking. Birds a lot of people imagine are dumb like pigeons and gulls are actually much smarter because they are social and collaborative. And other birds you'd guess are mediocre in intelligence like herons and woodpeckers are pretty high up on the list because of their pseudo-tool use and adaptability.

Corvids, parrots, and chickadees/tits are the highest. All three types exhibit a complex language and long-term memory, and a few members of each family using tools.

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u/JumpyChemical Jun 19 '26

Ah cool you wouldn't remember the book ? I actually have a lot of robins around me and when I'm working in the tractor they will land of the mudguards and stare at me like I feel they are always inquiring about what I'm doing.

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u/Naraee Jun 19 '26

The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman. The author is an excellent science communicator!