“The Genius of Birds” by Jennifer Ackerman

This is not a parrot-specific book, but this is my top recommendation to people that love birds. Obviously, parrots play an important role due to their widely accepted intelligence but wait till you read about all the other birds in this book.

Like many animals, it was generally thought for centuries that birds were not particularly bright. Over the past few decades, things have turned completely around. Depending on the type of intelligence you are looking at, birds are at the top of many categories.

And it’s not just Keas and New Caledonian Crows, the typical poster birds for avian intelligence. Even the tiny chickadee has some mind-blowing skills up its sleeves. Note: they do not have sleeves.

Birds share tool making capabilities that even other primates don’t. Digest that one for a moment!

I don’t want to spoil this book by relating more specifics. I would say that this book is accessible to anyone but does have a more scientific bent. It has a thorough bibliography indicating it is very well researched.

I re-read it twice a year at least because it is so packed with information that I simply cannot remember it all. I’ve already used it as a reference in a previous post and I plan to do the same going forward.

Would make an awesome gift for a bird-loving friend.