An owl’s supposed wisdom is based o

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.