Budgies and dogs, find out if budgies are truly smarter than dogs
In all honesty, I’m a tab bit irate😒😠 making this post!
Don’t worry, you have nothing to do with, only that every time I get this question while interacting with other bird owners, it usually comes with negative connotations.
See, most people assume budgies are nothing more than tiny, short-lived birdies for kids👶 and a path to bigger and better pets, perhaps because they are also inexpensive and readily available, more like gerbils and hamsters🐹.
Well, nothing could be further from the truth!
Budgies are clever but underrated birds with unique personalities.
They are intelligent as (if not more than) any other parrot, able to show affection, socialize, and learn an extensive vocabulary.
You only need to treat your budgie like you would any other parrot, bird, or pet to see their smart side, which is often overlooked.
Get your budgie out of his cage every day, spend one-on-one time with him, give him affection and love, and make sure his brain to mush by providing him different forging activities, puzzles, games, and more: EllienD, Parrot forums
Read on for better insight through the length of this post.
How Smart are Budgies Compared to Huamans
Now, parrots are intelligent, but according to studies, they are only as clever as a human toddler, most likely five years or less.
Essentially, an African grey parrot is more like a five-year-old, so a budgie is at best as astute as a three or maybe two-year-old.
These tiny birds are able to learn an extensive vocabulary and string words contextually.
New studies even show budgies can recognize abstract patterns in language (XYX), similar to a baby’s skill level, an ability long thought to be unique for humans.
This makes the bird the first non-human species to be able to grasp simple grammar.
A well-trained budgie will follow commands and, to a decent extent, hold a conversation with its owner, all the while communicating feelings and intentions.
And speaking of socialization, most parrots don’t just warm up to everyone. They have the emotional intelligence to choose who they like (or hate) the same way toddlers do.
If a budgie (parrot) likes you, it will perch on your shoulder, let you cuddle it, chat with you and do likable deeds for you, but if it hates you, it will bite you and scream to high heavens.
What is A Budgies I.Q (How Smart are They)
Mhhh, this is a tricky one!
Well, not much research has gone into evaluating the intelligence quotient of birds (leave alone budgies), but there is evidence, parrots, corvids (crows, ravens, and Jays), and Columbines are more clever than other birds and even mammals.
As we’ve seen, a budgie’s intelligence compares to a seven months to three years toddler, smart enough to grasp patterns in language, recognize people, and communicate, but still a dummy to recognize itself in a mirror.
Are Budgies Smarter Than Dogs
Are budgies more intelligent than dogs, YES and NO.
Well, mostly yes, given the stats, of course.
In more ways than one, my budgie show more intelligence than my dog, but since there is no direct comparison from experts, I cannot say with conviction which one is smarter.
Besides, one day, my budgie will pack some pretty impressive antics but do something utterly silly the next day, and so will my dog.
Now, away from my own observation, other parrot owners with dogs also don’t seem to agree which one is smarter (most think budgies are), perhaps because of the differences in breeds, socialization, and personalities.
The level of intelligence also has to do with the training (quality) each animal gets, which often favors dogs since a lot of time has gone into teaching dogs🐶over the years. as opposed to birds🐦(parrots🦜), let alone budgies
A case for budgies (parrots🦜) is they learn to talk and amass a handsome amount of tricks and commands faster and at an early age, albeit they seem to ignore most of that during puberty, picking up what they prefer through adulthood.
Parrots, including budgies, are also cranky with an attitude, and you may not tell when they don’t get things or deliberately trying to vex you.
Still, something only an intelligent animal can hack!
Dogs, on the other hand, may take a little longer to learn tricks and commands but will live most of their lives applying these lessons without fail (and minus the crank).
Of course, your doggie will never talk, but he will find other ways of interacting and communicating with you. They are nothing like parrots that learn words and commands and communicate what they want or need from their human owner more readily.
It has been proven that all parrots, right down to your budgie, as well corvids (crows, ravens, jays) and Columbidae (pigeons, doves) are quite capable of facial recognition
Rick Klugman, parrot expert, and respectable bird forums contributor.
Both dogs and parrots have impressive memories and are known to recognize and differentiate faces, but parrots (including budgies) still seem to be better endowed with these skills.
Perhaps dogs remember scents better than they recall things or people they’ve seen.
Parrot (budgies) have been known to remember people they’ve seen before even after a long time and can be pretty opinionated and fickle.
If a budgie dislikes you, he will show aggression towards you even after three years away from home. A dog🐩 will most likely have gotten over it.
Budgie Central notes that parrots (budgies) are also more adept at deciphering words. They’re even capable of talking in context (about their needs in basic capacity).
Overall, in all three parameters of evaluating animals’ intelligence, that is pattern recognition (related tasks memory), problem-solving, and self-awareness (emotional intelligence), budgies (and all parrots) arguably have one up on dogs.
Recent research has also found that birds, far from being dim-witted, have more brain cells in a more compact area than many much larger mammals.
Well, the research didn’t expressively say dogs, but given the odds🤷…
Are Budgies Smarter Than Cats
I’m guessing if a budgie is more intelligent than a dog, then it’s arguably clever than a cat.
As you may have guessed, there is no documented direct comparison of the two, but given how much each of these pet animals can learn, a budgie seems to have one over the cat.
This is also considering that most dogs can grasp more commands than your average cat, and their IQ is more comparable to a parrot’s than that of your feline.
However, these arguments remain widely conjectural, so take them with a generous pinch of salt.
Well, that all for this post. See you in the next one.
Enjoy birding.