Petiska > Pets > Birds > Budgerigars > How smart are budgies? [IQ, brain size. Vs. humans, dogs, cats]
Leslie Berry
Petiska Editor

How smart are budgies? [IQ, brain size. Vs. humans, dogs, cats]

In addition to the fact that budgies come in many colors, they also have a bonus trait: intelligence. Compared to other animal species, budgies are pretty intelligent. You will find how smart are budgies in this post in detail.

How smart are budgies?

Budgerigars are smart enough to entertain themselves, quickly learn tricks, imitate sounds and human gestures, recognize their owners, and learn their names. Besides, budgies are as smart as a 7-month baby and have a good memory.

What size is a budgie’s brain?

A budgie’s brain weighs approximately 1.32 grams. Also, budgies have a remarkable body-to-brain ratio.

Furthermore, their brains are full of neurons and designed like a human brain.

You might question their IQ level if they have considerably big humanlike brains. Let’s find that out.

What is the IQ level of budgies?

A budgie is as intelligent as a 7-month-old human baby, with around 100 IQ levels.

As one of the smartest animals in the world, budgies are pretty intelligent in general, but it is not easy to see and use that high level of IQ.

The budgies are easily bored and can hide their cleverness.

Budgies can learn complex structures like the language you talk to if you can be patient enough.

Can budgies understand humans?

Budgies express themselves orally. Thanks to their ability to communicate with people, budgies can understand and develop long-term relationships with people.

Do budgies have a good memory?

Memory is one of the main topics that budgies are good at if you can make the proper environment for it. Even after not seeing its owner for months, a budgie can recognize its owner’s face and voice, so yes, budgies have a good memory.

Can budgies talk like humans?

Of course, they can, but it is not just about the budgie. The owner should be educated enough. If you know how to make your budgie happy, it can even talk like your friend.

Can budgies learn tricks?

Yes! You can teach your budgie multiple tricks and where to use them! Not just you, a budgie also can learn. For example, it observes the environment, and if it thinks it may need tricks to get food, it learns the tricks by itself.

A budgie performing tricks video

Can budgies learn their name?

Budgies are known by their memory. After enough practice, it can learn its name. Rewarding budgie when you call its name makes the process of teaching easy.

Do budgies recognize their owners?

Yes, a budgie can recognize its owners, but not just the owners! Budgies can even recognize their owner’s friends, family, and partners! It may sound risky to remember the partners, but don’t worry; a budgie also knows the risky situations.

How smart are budgies compared to humans?

If we compare a budgie with a 7-month-old baby, a budgie is almost clever as the baby and budgies are the first species that can comprehend and do human-like behaviors.

Are budgies as smart as dogs?

Dogs can also learn from their owners but, when it comes to budgies, the comparison might not be good for dogs. The level of accuracy in communication is very high for a budgie, while dogs have limited communication abilities.

Are budgies as smart as cats?

At some point, such as problem-solving, cats handle the situation more efficiently but if the situation is about communicating with people, budgies are slightly better than cats.

Are budgies as smart as cockatiels?

Cockatiels and budgies are almost the same about intelligence. Both of them are capable of learning tricks, languages, names, etc.

Are budgies as smart as chickens?

Chickens are very intelligent as well but the problem for chickens is communication style. Unlike budgies, chickens can’t tell you directly what it needs.

Are budgies trainable?

Budgies can be trainable if the conditions are coherent for them. This also includes you and your behaviors, not just to it, in general.

Why are budgies so smart?

Budgies are just a kind of Psittacidae that show signs of a high level of IQ. That is mostly thanks to their brain structure which is in some respects, almost human-like.

How to keep a budgie smart?

All of this does not mean that your bird will remain in the same condition as when you first got it. There are some responsibilities to keep a budgie smart and sharp.

Parakeets need mental stimulation

You need to stimulate its mind if you want a budgie that is always smart and sharp.

Don’t let your budgie be bored. If you do, it may cause some problems for you. Why did I say issue? Because even if you don’t harm your budgie, it can harm itself without your knowledge!

Perches will solve most of your problems. Try to place perches at different edges of the cage so that your budgie will feel a different environment and prevent your budgie from being bored easily.

You need a cage that’s large enough

If you didn’t yet, we suggest you consider the size of your budgie’s cage. Budgie should feel at home and have a place to do whatever it wants. A small cage can cause depression and anxiety for your budgie.

Socializing is crucial

It would be best if you socialized with your pet as well. If you spend time with your budgie, it will help your budgie to feel happy and relaxed.

If you don’t have enough time to socialize with your pet, having a budgie might not be good for you and your budgie.

Try to let your parakeet out to fly from time to time?

As we said, budgies have human-like brains, and their needs are also human-like.

We can say that we should not pet our budgies inside the cage all the time. It is depressing for budgies as well.

Don’t forget to close all the windows and doors. Let your parakeet fly in safe conditions.

Resources:

  1. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1517131113#sfig03