Twit or true: are owls really intelligent?

8 January 2020

Owls are a symbol of wisdom. Are they really so intelligent compared with other birds?

Bill NaylorWilsford, Lincolnshire, UK

An owl’s supposed wisdom is based on the shape of its face. We have an instinctive emotional connection to the child-like appearance of animals and birds with large eyes, so maybe we imbue it with human qualities like wisdom or intelligence. The owl also has to turn its head to stare, giving the impression of undivided attention.

However, it isn’t among the social birds, which are considered intelligent. These include crows and other corvids, starlings and house sparrows, which have all shown problem-solving ability, and parrots, which can associate words and phrases with objects and events. Many social birds have a wide vocabulary including calls for certain predators. Some even learn to dupe rivals by mimicking predators’ calls to scare other birds away from food sources.


Owls are mainly solitary. While they are marvellously adapted predators, their behaviour is very hardwired, and their vocalisation limited. Owls have many special attributes, but being avian eggheads isn’t one of them.

Richard SwifteDarmstadt, Germany

Birds in the crow and parrot families have large brains for their head size. In particular, a region known as the nidopallium caudolaterale is well developed compared with other bird families. It is considered equivalent to the prefrontal cortex in mammals that is associated with higher brain functions.

Owls don’t have such relatively large, well-developed brains, and when tested in captivity haven’t shown above-average intelligence. In western cultures, the myth of the wise owl might have arisen because Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, is often portrayed with an owl on her shoulder. In some Indian cultures, the owl is actually considered stupid. Owls evolved senses and physical attributes perfectly adapted to their night hunter lifestyles, and presumably had no need for extra abilities such as curiosity, which can result in greater intelligence.

Jenny FurnessDoncaster, South Yorkshire, UK

Trying to compare the intelligence of owls with that of other birds is a bit like comparing cats with dogs. They are all good at what they do.

Behaviours of some birds, such as corvids, which can solve problems and use tools, or Harris’s hawks and falcons, which can undo knots, are very relatable to our own behaviour and are more likely to be judged as “intelligent”.

However, some types of owl do have complex behaviours. The little owl uses stashed meat to grow maggots for food in a way that other birds of prey don’t, for example. Its cousin, the burrowing owl, will take dung into its burrow and cultivate dung beetles.

Injured wild tawny owls often seem to recognise when they are being helped and cooperate with rescuers. Barn owls, on the other hand, are very sweet if they have been captive bred, but I can’t convince myself that I have ever met a bright one.

Mike BersinGresham, Norfolk, UK

An owl expert once told me that, were you to see the head of an owl devoid of its feathers, you would find nearly all eyes and very little skull or brain. Not long after, the person running an owl display at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds, UK, talked about the abilities of the massive European eagle owl. He said it was difficult to teach it a routine more complex than “fly to the back of the crowd, fly back for a snack”.

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