Grey parrots, commonly called African grays, are native to rainforests of central Africa, ranging in a band across the continent from Côte d’Ivoire to western Kenya. The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, is an African parrot in the family Psittacidae. The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of Systema Naturae. He placed it with all other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus.
Here are some fast facts about the African Grey Parrot:
- Common Name: African grey parrot
- Scientific Name: Psittacus erithacus
- Diet: Herbivore
- Group Name: Flock
- Average Life Span: Not known
- Size: 12.9 inches
- Weight: 2.5 pounds
- IUCN Red List Status: Endangered
- Current Population Trend: Decreasing
The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The Clements Checklist classifies the Príncipe grey parrot as a subspecies of the grey parrot. P. e. The grey parrot is medium to large sized, predominantly grey and black-billed.
Description and Appearance
As its name indicates, the African grey is a mottled grey colored, medium-sized parrot. It has a large black bill and white mask enclosing a yellow eye, and has a striking red vent and tail. Females have a pale gray crown with dark gray edges, a gray body, and scarlet tail feathers. The male looks similar to the female, but becomes darker with age.
Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46-52 cm (18-20+1⁄2 in). The head and wings are generally darker than the body.
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Habitat and Range
The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of Ivory Coast. Although typically inhabiting dense forest, they are commonly observed at forest edges, clearings, gallery forest, mangroves, wooded savannah, cultivated areas, and even gardens.
Behavior and Diet
African grays are highly social species, flying through the sky in noisy flocks and roosting in big groups amid the treetops each evening. They feed in smaller groups of about 30, eating foods like oil palm nuts and the berries of the cola plant, grasping them in their claws and tearing them open with their strong beak. The birds will also sometimes raid human crops, such as maize. Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. Includes fruit, seeds, buds, nectar, and pollen; occasionally insects or other meat will be eaten.
Breeding and Life Cycle
The monogamous parrots, which mate for life, begin searching for mates between three and five years of age. A pair will seek out pre-existing tree cavities in which to make a nest, lay a clutch of about three to four eggs, which are incubated by the female. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. Parents are attentive, building well-made nests and feeding their chicks together. Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4-5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks.
Incubation: 28 days
Clutch Size: 2 to 4 eggs
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Fledging Duration: 12 weeks
Sexual Maturity: 4 to 7 years
Life Span: 50+ years
Intelligence and Mimicry
Apollo The Genius Parrot - Guinness World Records
Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioural and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating the bird's advanced cognitive abilities. In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behaviour and concern for others.
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Threats and Conservation
Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. The global population of P. erithacus has been coarsely estimated at 0.56 to 12.7 million individuals. The population is decreasing but is not severely fragmented.
Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year.
Because of their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech, African grays are the most popular pet bird in the world. The birds breed well in captivity, and at least 1.3 million gray parrots that have been exported legally from Africa over the past four decades, particularly to countries in the Middle East. However, hundreds of thousands of others-maybe more-have died in transit or been snatched illegally from the forests of West and Central Africa as part of the illegal wildlife trade.
Forest loss is also negatively impacting populations, and is considered to have contributed to declines in Ghana and may be a larger threat than the pet trade in Cameroon. The loss of large trees with nesting cavities may be particularly detrimental.
Status
- IUCN: Endangered
- CITES: Appendix I
- USFWS: Not listed
Fun Facts
- The African grey parrot is monogamous, nesting solitarily in a tree with a hole for her eggs.
- One defense mechanism is fluffing up to look larger and biting.
- The African grey is considered to be one of the most accomplished mimics. Parrots, when raised by humans, show an amazing ability to mimic people and noisy objects, but in the wild they have never been observed mimicking.
- These parrots have a long lifespan and can outlive their human owners.
