History Main / UnwiseOwl

[[AC:Advertising]]

[[AC:Asian Animation]]

%%[[/folder]]

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Films -- Animation]]

[[AC:Jokes]]
* Owls are not that bright. No matter how many times you tell them, they keep asking, [[OwlsAskWho "Who? Who?"]].

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Myths & Religion]]

[[AC:Radio]]

[[AC: Video Game]]

[[AC:Web Animation]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]

[[AC:Web Original]]
* [[https://img.ifunny.co/images/ddae3c520a7c3da55ad6f9f5d39ee688d0aaf751dea56607079e8cc582bc021f_1.jpg This meme]] originating from a Website/{{Tumblr}} post depicts an owl in a defensive/frightened position when shown a figure of an owl. The caption is "Owls may be symbols of wisdom, but they're actually complete morons."

[[AC:Western Animation]]

[[AC:Real Life]]

In spite of the usual portrayal of owls, this trope is TruthInTelevision. Owls in real life are actually less smart than other birds -- their brains aren't as developed for intelligence -- and some cultures even consider them stupid instead of smart.

This is obviously a subversion of TheOwlKnowingOne, and related to DumbDinos (as owls, being birds, are part of "surviving" dinosaurs). Sister trope OwlsAskWho can be used as a sign of a lack of intelligence on the owl's part. See also DoofyDodo for another type of bird with low intelligence.

This is obviously a subversion of TheOwlKnowingOne. Sister trope OwlsAskWho can be used as a sign of a lack of intelligence on the owl's part. See also DoofyDodo for another type of bird with less intelligence.

This is obviously a subversion of TheOwlKnowingOne. Sister trope OwlsAskWho can be used as a sign of a lack of intelligence on the owl's part.

In spite of the usual portrayal of owls, this trope is TruthInTelevision. Owls in real life are actually less intelligent than other birds -- their brains aren't as big and developed -- and some cultures even consider them stupid instead of smart.

* ''Animation/TheLegendOfLuckyPie'': [[TheHero Ah-Pie]] is a NobleBirdOfPrey and is of average intelligence (subverting both TheOwlKnowingOne and [[TheDitz the more common version of this trope for owls]]). [[OminousOwl The rest of the Owl Kingdom plays the more negative stereotypes about owls straight as a rail]], being one the antagonistic factions along [[TheEmpire the Dog Kingdom]], which may also qualify.

* ''Animation/TheLegendOfLuckyPie'': [[TheHero Ah-Pie]] is a NobleBirdOfPrey, and is of average intelligence (subverting both TheOwlKnowingOne and [[TheDitz the more common version of this trope for owls]]). [[OminousOwl The rest of the Owl Kingdom plays the more negative stereotypes about owls straight as a rail]], being one the antagonistic factions along [[TheEmpire the Dog Kingdom]], which may also qualify.

* ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'': Owl, while he is BookSmart, he still "hasn't exactly got brain", as Piglet puts it, and is a bad speller as well.

* ''Videogame/BillieBustUp'': Barnaby is a ghost owl with all the powers of a RealityWarper, but not as much power of being smart; he has to take a moment to realize Billie is alive instead of dead, and seemingly doesn't get the hint that Billie doesn't want to die or go to his party when she protests.

* ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}}'': Nanashi Mumei, the Guardian of Civilization and [[AnimalMotifs Barn Owl]] flips between this and TheOwlKnowingOne on a regular basis. She is the keeper of all the wisdom that comes from watching over Mankind's development over the countless millennia. However, with it comes the ability to outright forget mankind's accomplishments as well, as even her own knowledge ends up lost with the decline of civilizations. Right in her very debut, she introduced herself three times over in quick succession because she couldn't remember if she introduced herself. She is a bit scatterbrained and has the tendency to "forgor" things. Even by her admittance, her current name is simply the last one she can remember.

* TheOwlKnowingOne is a stereotype, but not accurate in real life. Although owls are large-brained birds, they seem to be at the lower end of bird intelligence based on behavioral studies of captive birds and mostly failed attempts to train them for use in falconry. Owls in the wild have been observed to make life-threatening blunders not frequently witnessed of other birds - such as failing to avoid traffic on busy roads when hunting prey. This is because owls are an example of CripplingOverspecialization. Their large brains are optimized for extremely acute audio-visual sensory processing and not much else. Thus they're highly effective hunters, but they don't have what humans interpret as "intelligence"- their ability to learn and to solve puzzles (such as trying to reach food that's been placed somewhere inaccessable) is very poor.

* TheOwlKnowingOne is a stereotype, but not accurate in real life. Although owls are large-brained birds, they seem to be at the lower end of bird intelligence based on behavioral studies of captive birds and mostly failed attempts to train them for use in falconry. Owls in the wild have been observed to make life-threatening blunders not frequently witnessed of other birds - such as failing to avoid traffic on busy roads when hunting prey. This is because owls are an example of CripplingOverspecialization. Their large brains are optimized for extremely acute audio-visual sensory processing and not much else. Thus they're highly effective hunters, but they don't have what humans interpret as "intelligence".

Index: AvianTropes, StupidityTropes

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'': Creator/{{Disney}}'s version of Friend Owl initially appears to be wise but turns out to be a KnowNothingKnowItAll, inverting TheOwlKnowingOne.
* As depicted in Creator/{{Disney}}'s [[WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh numerous]] [[WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh animated]] [[WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh2011 adaptations]] of the ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' stories, Owl's advice often makes absolutely no sense, subverting TheOwlKnowingOne.

* ''[[Literature/LandOfOz The Patchwork Girl of Oz]]'': A featured minor character is called the Foolish Owl, who is just that, subverting TheOwlKnowingOne.
* ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'': Owl is a subversion of TheOwlKnowingOne, as while he is BookSmart, he still "hasn't exactly got brain", as Piglet puts it, and is a bad speller as well.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Hooty is an owl demon who is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} instead of TheOwlKnowingOne.