Nominees for the least intelligent bird in the world (1 Viewer)

[Xenospiza]

Mine is: Canada Goose
I would't dare call a bird "stupid" of course, although it is tempting in this case.

At my local patch, a pair of Mute Swans is nesting. In itself this is quite stupid, because they haven't been successful in the last ten years.
A pair of Canada Geese also seems to like the pond and keeps on landing there, much to the annoyance of the Mute Swans which try to chase away anything larger than an Egyptian Goose. Each time the Mute Swan approaches, the Canada Geese try to get away by swimming to the other side of the pond. This only lasts until the Mute Swan is really fed up and goes for the full attack. Then the Canada Geese fly up together, make a sharp turn and land on the pond again, sometimes at the exact spot where the took off.
Their hope that the Mute Swan doesn't recognise them anymore is unfounded and the next pursuit starts immediately. Yesterday morning, the first break for the swan only came after two hours of constant chasing, as the Canada Geese had their breakfast on a nearby field. Half an hour later though...
(Just for comparison: the local Greylags avoid the pond now. The most aggressive I have ever seen a Mute Swan towards another species was when a Bar-headed Goose landed: this was attacked instantly).

 

[Andy Adcock]

Pheasant.

Faced with the simple choice of running to the safety of a roadside field or in front of an approaching, speeding car, they invariably make the wrong choice.

 

[MikeInPA]

Pheasant.

Faced with the simple choice of running to the safety of a roadside field or in front of an approaching, speeding car, they invariably make the wrong choice.

Absolutely agree. Where I used to live in Lincolnshire we used to walk the dogs in Bourne Woods. There was a totally white pheasant we often came across and it would crouch down right beside the path. A regular Ring-necked would be well camouflaged but not a totally white one. There was also a beautiful Reeves Pheasant with a hugely long tail that used to walk out into the lane to challenge approaching vehicle’s.

 

[jurek]

I worked in a building where a pair of Magpies wanted to build a nest. The roof had a row of support beams - identical narrow horizontal metal poles sticking out. The magpies started a nest on the first beam and brought a lot of sticks. But the nest could not balance on a simple straight beam. It kept collapsing. Finally the magpies abandoned it - and started building on the second beam in the row. But the nest kept collapsing. Then they started on the third beam, fourth, fifth etc. At the end the building was decorated with 7 or 8 heaps of sticks.

 

[kb57]

Another vote for pheasant. An avian Darwin Award went to the bird I stopped for in the middle of the road, which proceeded to take out my wing mirror and itself by taking the only fatal escape option.
I've also read that pheasants feature highly amongst wind farm casualties - not through collisions with the blade, but by flying straight into the tower.
I guess a blind spot in forward vision might excuse both examples, but there is also the point that there are in fact no selective pressures in an introduced pheasant which might favour smarter individuals, as the gene pool is constantly replenished by released birds.

 

[Joseph Bouvier]

How has no one said chicken yet?

 

[Xenospiza]

I worked in a building where a pair of Magpies wanted to build a nest. The roof had a row of support beams - identical narrow horizontal metal poles sticking out. The magpies started a nest on the first beam and brought a lot of sticks. But the nest could not balance on a simple straight beam. It kept collapsing. Finally the magpies abandoned it - and started building on the second beam in the row. But the nest kept collapsing. Then they started on the third beam, fourth, fifth etc. At the end the building was decorated with 7 or 8 heaps of sticks.

And they say corvids are smart birds!

How has no one said chicken yet?

A bird that can live on without a head is a good call...

 

[alanc]

eer .... Dunno ck

cheers alan

 

[Sandra (Taylor)]

Female mallards are stupid. Why on earth do they keep leading their flock of newborns over grids in the road, and losing them down the drain!!

 

[jurek]

I saw a group of Great Bustards displaying in Spain. One was separated from its mates by a low pasture fence, lower than itself. For over a hour it tried to join others by pushing itself at the barbed wire fence. He did not figure out to fly over, nor to walk around.

Memo: female great bustards don't select mates by their intelligence.

 

[mummymonkey]

That caper who square-goed the golden eagle.

 

[raymie]

Emu.

 

[MJB]

Emerald Dove, nowadays Grey-capped Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica in particular. Once you had one in the net in Brunei, the net had to be taken down and set up elsewhere, otherwise the same bird would constantly fly its usual route into the net, many, many times...
MJB

 

[MJB]

Emu.

"Duck can swim but he can't sing
Nor can the eagle on the wing
Emu can't fly but I'm tellin' you
He can run the pants off a kangaroo"

(An Extract from Old Man Emu, composed and sung by the marvellous John R Williamson. Do look it up on YouTube)

 

[tperry]

I agree with Pheasant but, for a native bird, Woodpigeon - similar road sense.