African Grey Parrot Facts

I have embedded some of the most important African Grey parrot facts that are very useful for the bird lovers especially. The African Grey Parrot belongs to the family of Psittacus erithacus and a kingdom of Animalia. This is a medium sized bird and is mainly found in the Central Africa. Some conversationalists believe that this is an intelligent bird. Recent study shows that more than 350,000 species were sold during the period of 1994 to 2003. However, in United States Conservation Act introduced which impeded the further exportation of these parrots.

One of the unique characteristics of these parrots is that they are capable of copying any kind of voice such as it can easily perform mimicry of a human voice. This quality also enables many traders to start trading of these parrots.
African grey parrots are predominantly grey in color which is followed by a red tail.
These types of parrots tend to become aggressive and self-destructive when left alone; therefore, under captivity they ought to be engaged with some kind of activity.
These birds are long-lived parrots; the lifespan ranges from 73 to 93 years. However under captivity, the average lifespan of African grey parrots is 50 to 60 years.
It is estimated that 21% of the African parrot’s population is taken from wild for trading purposes.
These birds are mostly found in the rainforests of West and Central Africa.
They build nests on the elevated trees.
African Grey parrots are 33 cm long.
These species weigh around 400 – 490 grams.
They begin to speak after 2 – 3 years of age. However, few parrots like Timneh African parrots can speak in the preliminary stages.
These parrots are very sociable and cooperative.
They require outsized cages that are embedded with quite a wide space.
No significant difference is observed between the male and female.
At times, they can be noisy because they always seem to imitate surrounding voices.
Females lay 2 – 3 eggs.
The incubation (keeping warm) period ranges from 21 – 30 days.
The chicks leave their nests after 80 days period.
One of the amazing african grey parrot facts is that they had been observed to identify colors, English letters, and even shapes.
These birds do travel great distances.
These African parrots form large flocks comprising thousands of individuals producing squawks, scream, whistles, and shrieks sounds.

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Where do African Grey Parrot live?

Being one of the largest African parrots, these species are endemic to South Africa. As we go through some of the imperative African grey parrot facts about its distribution and range we know that these birds are extensively distributed all throughout the tropical forests of Central Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Southern Angola, Principe Islands, New Guinea, Mali, and Ivory Coast.

They are mostly found in the subtropical forests, mangrove trees, woodlands, raphia palms, oil palms, and cultivated areas.

African Grey Parrot Facts about its Threats

Deforestations and the habitat destructions are few of the notable threats to these parrots. The population has significantly declined over the years. Apart from these activities, illegal trading made it even more extinct.

What do African Grey Parrots Eat?

These types of parrots predominantly feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, palm nuts. Apart from these nutrients, they also feed on snails and other protein-rich vegetarian diet. If you’ve got one of these parrots then feed those varieties of foodstuffs rather than providing always the same diet.

What African Grey Parrots Shouldn’t Eat

Caffeine
Chocolate
Peach pit
Cherry pit
Apple seeds
Avocado
Chemical
Fertilizers
Artificial dyes
Vegetables

African Grey Parrots Species

African grey parrot facts lead us to believe that scientists have found two subspecies:

Congo African Grey Parrot

These parrots belong to the family of Psittacus erithacus erithacus and have primarily greyish body with a black beak. Grey feathers also followed by a red tail.
The length of Congo African Grey parrot measures around 33 cm (13 in).
They are generally found on the Islands of Kenya, Tanzania, Bioko, Angola, Ivory Coast and Africa.

Timneh African Grey Parrot

These birds belongs to the Psittacus erithacus timneh family. They are relatively smaller in size and are endemic to West Africa, Mali, Sierra, Bandama River and Ivory Coast.