When you think about all of the animals in the world, you quickly realize that birds are, in fact, amongst some of the most intelligent creatures we have on Earth. Although there are more than 10,000 bird species worldwide, only a handful of them have made the list for extremely talented and incredibly intelligent.

Some of the birds on this list are great at using tools to accomplish a purpose while others have a talent for outsmarting their feathered friends. There is even a bird that can recognize human faces. Read on to learn about the unique behaviors that landed these five fliers on the world’s smartest bird list.

1. Crow

No smartest bird list is complete without the crow! Crows are considered the smartest of all birds for several reasons. Furthermore, it’s the variety of things they can do that puts them over the top. In Japan, crows have been seen dropping nuts into a busy roadway. Of course, the nuts were crushed beneath the tires of passing vehicles. The crows sit on a powerline above the street waiting for traffic to slow down. When it does, they fly down to eat the nut pieces. This is cause-and-effect thinking. In addition, crows can create tools out of leaves, twigs, and sticks to access insects from the ground or a tree. Last but not least, crows can remember the facial features of humans.

2. Kea

The Kea has been enlisted by many as the world’s most intelligent bird among top ten intelligent birds. The Kea is found in New Zealand, and it is basically a parrot. This extremely intelligent bird knows how to be very crafty when it comes to finding or stealing food. The troublesome native parrot, is known as the 'Clown of the Alps’ and can cause havoc with many things (especially cars) and has proved to be as clever as some of the smartest animals on the planet. In some intelligence tests carried out by a Canterbury University masters student, kea outscored gibbons - and anthropoid apes which are part of the primate family.

3. The African Grey Parrot

This order of parrot may be nothing special to look at compared to other colorful members of the species. But it is brains, not beauty that makes it remarkable. The African grey parrot is capable of understanding the meaning of words, which is a real fact. This ability is far superior to that of the average talking parrot, which simply mimics human sounds. One of the stars of the species, an African grey parrot named Alex, was capable of recognizing the names of over 50 objects, several colors, shapes and quantities. The most amazing fact about Alex the African grey parrot is that it asked a question. This is something that no other species except for humans ever did. The parrot wanted to know what color it was which for sure is a sign of an intelligent bird.

4. The Eurasian Magpie

The highest form of intelligence is self-awareness. This means that one knows that one is alive and exists as a unique and individual organism. One of the ways of testing self-awareness is being able to recognize oneself in the mirror. Most cats and dogs (considered intelligent animals) are unable to do so. They perceive the image as for another animal and either attack it or run from it. However, a humble bird is capable of recognizing its own image in a mirror: it is the Eurasian magpie.

5. Clark’s Nutcracker

The Clark’s nutcracker lives in the mountains in the western part of the United States. They have soft gray feathers on their head and back along with black tail feathers. Though it lives up in the mountains, this bird’s intelligence is well-known. In short, this feathered creature has a great memory. Pine seeds are the main diet of the Clark’s nutcracker. These tiny birds expend a lot of effort during the summer months storing pine seeds, so they have sustenance throughout the winter months. They store as many as 30,000 pine seeds during one summer season. However, they don’t store all of the seeds in one location. Instead, they store only three or four seeds in a single place. This means the Clark’s nutcracker must remember thousands of hiding places. Which leads to the question: How does this bird find the buried seeds after the snow falls? Scientists have concluded that it uses tree stumps, fence posts, and other landmarks to help it remember where the seeds are buried. No wonder it made the cut for being one of the smartest birds in the world.