Hey! If you ever wondered how a parrot would look like if it is grey in color, here we are.
We are the African Grey Parrots. We are notorious for our human mimicking skills. Have a look at important things about us:
- We are one of the widely used pets in human households. The ability to mimic our surroundings, human speech and other noises is very impressive and adorable.
- We are a highly intelligent species. Did you know? A grey parrot named Alex which is observed and taken care of by Dr. Irene Pepperburg has shown the ability to learn more than 100 words and can differentiate objects, colors, materials, and shapes.
- We are intelligent enough to possess probabilistic reasoning and being able to make inferences about a sample based on information available about a group. We are known to have the cognitive ability of a 4- to a 6-year-old kid.
- There are a lot of varieties of us that have been selectively bred to obtain different colors. Those are Red, Albino, Incomplete Ino, Blue Ino, Pied, F2 Pied, Parino, lutino, Cinnamon, and Grizzles.
- We are extensively traded as pets. About 3,59,000 of us were traded in between 1994 and 2003.
- Do you know? In captivity, we can live for a very long time. Some of us have lived for more than 80 years.
- A very interesting thing about us is that in Japan, one of us was kept as kept and it escaped. It wanted to return to the caretaker and for that, it yelled the caretaker’s name and address continuously and has eventually returned home.
- In our natural habitat, we can fly up to 10km in a single day.
- We make a sweet couple. The couple sings for each other and also feed each other.
SOME QUICK FACTS ABOUT US:
Our Scientific Name: Psittacus Erithacus.
Identification: Medium-sized parrot with a mostly grey body and red tail.
Our Habitat: Dense forests, forest edges, and open vegetation.
Food Habits: Omnivorous; feed mainly on fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, tree bark, insects, and snails.
Breeding Period: In dry season.
Number of eggs laid: 3-5 eggs.
Incubation period: about 30 days.
Lifespan: about 23 years in wild; 40-60 years in captivity
IUCN red list status: Endangered.
CITES: Appendix I.
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Not listed.
Our Range:
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Psittacidae
Tribe: Psittacini
Genus: Psittacus
Species: P. erithacus
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are also known as Congo Grey Parrots or simply “Grey Parrots”. Let us tell you more about our species.
African Grey Parrots are scientifically called as Psittacus Erithacus..
HOW WE LOOK
We are medium-sized parrots with a body length of around 33cm, a wingspan of 46cm-52cm and weighing 418gms-526gms.
As our name suggests, we are mostly grey in color. The head and wings are dark-grey in color with slightly white edges. Our tail is red in color. Our bill is black with the upper bill being long and pointing downward like any other parrot. Our eyes are dark grey to black in color with yellow irises.
Males and females look alike, and the young ones of our species are similar to adults but with no yellow iris.
We are selectively bred, and various natural and artificial mutations are obtained. We are available in part or complete red, Albino, Incomplete Ino and Blue
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We are generally found in dense forests, but we also live in forest edges and in open vegetation.
Our range lies in Africa, especially in countries near the equator like Congo, Angola, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and Ivory Coast.
WHAT WE EAT
We are omnivorous birds, but we mostly eat fruits. Our diet consists of fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, tree bark, insects and snails.
We pick our food by foraging on the ground.
REPRODUCTION:
We are monogamous birds (having a single mate for a lifetime). Our breeding season is in dry season. We pair up and build our nest on a tree that is not used by any other parrot.
The female lays 3-5 eggs at a time and the incubation period is about 30 days. Both parents defend the nest and incubate. They feed and take care of the young chicks.
The young leave the parents after 12 weeks. They reach sexual maturity at 3-5 years of age.
Our lifespan in the wild is about 23 years. In captivity, we have a lifespan of 40-60 years.
MORE ABOUT US:
We are widely kept as pets due to our ability to mimic. We can mimic the sounds of our environment and also human speech.
We are highly intelligent birds. We can differentiate objects, colors, shapes, etc., and also can learn many words and sentences.
Our natural predators are vultures and many numbers of raptors. Monkeys try to steal our eggs rather than attacking us.
We are available in many variations due to our mutations. We can be seen in red color, Albino which is white, Incomplete Ino which has light pigmentation and blue color which has a white tail.
OUR CONSERVATION:
We are extensively traded as pets around the world. Humans are our largest threat. Between 1994 and 2003, 3,59,000 individuals were traded.
Extensive habitat loss and harvesting resulted in a huge decline in our population.
Our global population is estimated to be 6,30,000 to 13,00,000 individuals.
We are listed as “Endangered” in the red list of IUCN and also listed in CITES
