10 Misconceptions About Birds

Birds are some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth, but there’s a surprising number of myths and misconceptions about them that have persisted over time. From their intelligence to their behavior, many widely held beliefs about birds are far from accurate. These misunderstandings can shape how we view and interact with our feathered friends. In this listicle, we’ll debunk some of the most common myths about birds, separating fact from fiction and giving you a deeper understanding of the amazing avian world.

Get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about our winged companions!

Related: 10 Common Myths and Misconceptions About Our Universe

10 Ostriches Stick Their Heads in the Ground

Despite what Looney Tunes may have taught you, ostriches are not known to stick their heads in the ground when frightened.

It is believed that this myth goes all the way back to ancient Rome, when Pliny the Elder wrote about seeing these large birds “thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed.” Pliny was partially right—ostriches don’t bury their heads to hide from danger, but they do dig holes to bury their eggs. It’s possible that Pliny and other ancient scholars saw ostriches with their heads in the ground to check on their eggs and just assumed they were hiding.

Interestingly, ostriches do have an interesting way of dealing with danger. According to the Cleveland Zoological Society, an ostrich who senses trouble will often flop to the ground and try to blend in with the terrain.^[1]

9 Owls Can Turn Their Heads 360 Degrees

Like teachers and parents, owls are known to see everything. While they do have extraordinary sight and hearing, they cannot turn their heads in a complete 360-degree turn such as often portrayed in cartoons and comics. Because they have fixed eye sockets, they cannot move their eyes at all, meaning they must turn their heads to see their surroundings.

They do have flexible necks that allow them to turn their heads up to 270 degrees, which is still quite impressive! But it would be impossible for them to totally spin around without breaking blood vessels or tearing tendons.^[2]

8 Eugene Schieffelin Tried to Release a Bird from Every Work of Shakespeare

In the 1890s, Central Park attempted to add more flora and fauna to its newly broken ground. Though today we know that it can be harmful to introduce non-native species to new places, ornithologist Eugene Schieffelin had no idea when he suggested releasing 60 imported starlings from London into New York’s largest park.

Legend has it that this was part of his plan to introduce every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to North America. Historians seriously doubt this, as there’s no evidence of this being true until the 1940s when naturalist Edwin Way Teale suggested this theory. He also suggested that Schieffelin got the idea from Central Park’s Shakespeare Garden, which houses a plant from each Shakespeare play. But that garden wasn’t created until after Scheiffelin died, meaning there’s no way he could have been influenced by it.^[3]

7 Parrots Can Talk

Okay, this one is a bit of a gray area. While it’s true that parrots can make sounds that sound like words and phrases, they aren’t talking in the traditional sense of the word.

Parrots are unique for their ability to mimic humans, leading to funny (and sometimes creepy) situations in which it seems like a parrot is speaking to and holding a conversation with its owner. But the truth is they are simply repeating what they’ve heard and associating it with the current situation. For example, they might notice that a human says “hello” when they enter a room and choose to do the same.

But if you find your African Grey starting to call you stupid, he doesn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s only because he heard someone else doing it first.^[4]

6 Rice Can Kill Birds

The old tradition of throwing rice at a wedding has dropped in popularity in recent years thanks to the idea that it’s harmful to birds. The myth is that when birds eat raw rice, it expands in their stomach, killing them. While it’s true that rice expands in the stomach, research shows that birds’ digestive systems have no problems handling rice or other expanding vegetables.

In fact, many birds actually eat grains like rice in the wild. Despite this myth-busting, many wedding venues still uphold their bans on rice-throwing due to the mess it makes. Sure, the birds come and clean up the rice, but then someone has to clean up the bird poop.^[5]

5 Owls Are Extremely Intelligent

Owl from Winnie the Pooh and the scholarly thief from the iconic Tootsie Roll commercial have led many to believe that owls are among the smartest birds around, but that isn’t true.

Unlike crows and pigeons, owls are not easily trainable. They tend to be stubborn. According to many experts, they simply don’t have the brain power that has been exhibited in other types of birds, such as some that can imitate other birds’ calls or associate objects and words. So, why do we associate them with intelligence? It’s probably because of the shape of its face. Owls’ eyes both face forward, giving them a human-like appearance. This, combined with their tendency to stare intensely, gives us the idea that they are listening to us.

Though owls are smart in their own way, with their hunting skills being particularly notable, in the human sense of the word, they are not at the top of the class.^[6]

4 Humans Can’t Touch Baby Birds

Good news! If you happen to come across a baby bird who’s fallen out of a tree, there’s no need to leave it there. You can help the young animal back into its nest without any fear of its mother abandoning it.

The myth that mother birds will abandon their young if touched by humans has been believed for years, but it is simply not true. While it is generally advised to not touch any wild animals, even ones that seem distressed or lost, wildlife experts have confirmed that almost no animals will abandon their young based on the smell of a human.

In fact, birds, in general, don’t have a strong sense of smell. What may keep the mother bird from returning could be disturbing its home, as they are known to leave eggs or young if their nests are messed with or destroyed.^[7]

3 Bald Eagles Sound Powerful

Most of the world has come to associate the bald eagle with the United States of America, the national symbol of the country. But the iconic screech that we think of when we imagine the powerful bird isn’t actually the sound these birds make.

Much like how Disney used tiger roars instead of lions’ for The Lion King, most TV shows and movies substitute bald eagle cries for red-tailed hawks. Somewhere along the line, it was determined that the eagle’s call wasn’t majestic enough to represent the bird that’s so important to America, and the hawk’s call has taken its place. The actual sound bald eagles make is very weak, usually a high-pitched whistle that is compared to a seagull’s scream.^[8]

2 Feeding Birds in the Fall Will Prevent Migration

Feeding Birds in the Fall Will Prevent Migration

Don’t put that bird feeder in the garage just yet. It’s totally fine to feed birds all throughout the year, despite popular belief that it will prevent them from migrating.

Many birds migrate to warmer climates in the fall in order to stay warm and go where there are more natural resources for them. Some believe that feeding birds keeps them in the area until it gets too cold, and they die. This is untrue, mostly because migrating birds leave in order to go to places with more sunlight, not just more food. So, by the time the days are getting significantly shorter, birds will always leave, no matter how much food is available.

Feeding birds in the fall can actually help them with their migration, as it allows them to store food in their body, which can be converted into energy for their journey.^[9]

1 Dodos Were Dumb

Next time someone calls you “dumb as a dodo,” you can thank them because dodos actually had intelligence above the average bird.

Though they look a little silly with their big beaks and rotund bodies, the dodo bird is often used as the butt of jokes because of their perceived stupidity. But these jokes aren’t founded in truth. Dodo birds are from the same family as pigeons, which are known to be pretty intelligent and highly trainable (think about carrier pigeons).

So, how did they come to be known as the Patrick Star of the animal kingdom? It’s actually quite a sad story. Unlike most other birds, dodos evolved in isolation from significant predators, leading them to have no fear of humans. This, combined with their inability to fly, made them extremely easy to catch and eat.

According to one report by shipwrecked mariner Volkert Evertsz, the birds would run up to the seaman to say hello. Upon being killed, the others would come to try and help and thus would easily be killed as well.^[10]