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Looking for African Grey Parrots Complete Details? Or are you just randomly curious? 

 

Whatever the reason for your presence on this page, you will get to know everything about Grey Parrots.

 

Down here, we have gathered every little detail that we could give you insight into the lives of African Grey Parrots.

 

You will get to know african grey parrot lifespan, their names, types, their favorite foods, stages of age, fun facts, breeding process, diseases they can get, how to take care of your Grey Parrots, and so on.

 

So, let’s dive right into it!

 

African Grey Parrots: All You Need to Know!

African Grey Parrots are the natives of Equatorial Africa and are some of the intelligent parrots out there. With the reasoning of a 3-5-year-olds child, they can talk, mimic sounds, and speak up to 1000 words. 

 

They are the largest parrot species in Africa and are commonly known as Grey Parrots because of their exquisite color. 

 

Types Grey Parrots:

Although Grey Parrots come in a good number of sizes and colors, there are two types of them, including Congo African grey parrot (CAG) and Timneh African grey parrot (TAG). 

 

Congo parrots are large and grey, with a dazzling red tail and fading black beak. 

 

In contrast to that, Timney parrots are small with a charcoal grey coat. Their tail feathers are the maroon-ish, and their upper beak is slightly pink.

 

Name: 

There are various names for this gigantic bird. These include Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot, Timneh grey parrot, Timneh African grey parrot, and African grey parrot. 

 

The binomial or scientific name of Congo parrot is Psittacus erithacus, and Timneh parrot is Psittacus Timneh. 

 

Grey Parrots Color:

As their name describes it, this parrot species are mostly grey.

 

Congo grey parrots have silver-grey body color, black beak, and glowing red tail. The area near the eyes and rump is lighter grey. The eyes of Congo birds reside around a fully white area. 

 

Timneh grey parrots have dark grey or charcoal grey body color, a horn-colored or extremely light pink upper beak with a lower black beak, white around-eye area, and maroon-colored tail.  

 

The African Grey parrot’s iris bear a black color for the first four months after birth. However, the color changes to yellow entirely by the time it turns four years old.  

 

African Grey Parrot Lifespan:

African Grey parrots have a mean life span of about 23 years in the wild. While in confinement, they can live up to 60 to 80 years. 

 

In addition, 

• African grey parrots become sexually mature at about 4 to 6 years of age. 
• They have a weaning age of 100-120 days when reared by parents. But if they are hand raised, the weaning age would be approximately 75 to 90 days. Keep in mind that the weaning age may differ according to the individual. 
• They have a fledgling age of almost 50 to 65 days or 12 weeks.
• Their incubation age is about 26 to 28 days. 
• Grey parrots have a mental age and emotional intellect equivalent to a 3-5-year-old child.

 

Grey Parrots Size, Length, and Weight:

The African Grey Parrot  is a medium-sized bird with a length of about 11 to 13 inches (or 28 to 33 centimeters). 

 

Congo Grey Parrots weigh 14 ounces (or 300-400g) when fully grown. Whereas, Timneh Grey Parrots weigh 9-13 ounces (or 275 to 375g).

 

This enormous bird has a wingspan of 46 to 52 cm or 18–201⁄2 in. 

 

Taxonomy (Family):

African grey parrots belong to the;

• Class: Aves 
• Order: Psittaciformes
• Family: Psittacidae. 
• Tribe: Psittacini
• Genus: Psittacus   

 

Congo grey and Timneh grey are the most known species of African Grey Parrots. 

 

The scientific name of the Congo grey species is Psittacus erithacus (P. Erithacus). And the scientific name of the Timneh grey species is Psittacus Timneh (P. Timneh).

 

 

Best Food for African Grey Parrots:

Like humans, birds also need an adequate amount of proteins, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, water, and minerals. 

 

However, most of the time, pet birds don’t get such privileges. It is not because the owner does not love them, but only because people are busy, and providing a proper nutritional diet to a pet bird becomes a side matter.  

 

Food in the wild – When we talk about African grey parrots, these intelligent birds can eat different kinds of foods (not caged or confined), including nuts, vegetation, fruits, seeds, and berries. On top of that, they cherish the fruits of a native tree, that is, African oil palm. 

 

Food as a pet – Now, let’s talk about what you should give to your pet grey parrot. But before we go further, keep in mind that these bird species are resistless to vitamin A deficiency, calcium, and obesity. That is why a balanced diet and proper food care are a must for macaws. 

 

Although they eat seeds in the wild, you should also provide them with different seeds in moderate amounts, such as a few nuts every day. Macaws usually love peanuts and sunflower seeds; both are low in vitamin A, calcium, and other nutrients. In consequence, please don’t rely on seeds for their whole diet. 

 

You can also feed them pellets, an ideal diet for birds and accounts for about 80% of the bird’s diet. So, plan your pet bird’s diet around it if you want. You can also discuss the matter of your bird’s diet with your vet. 

 

Nowadays, commercially produced pellets contain almost every nutrition your bird needs. They come in different packages according to whatever life stage your grey parrot is experiencing, along with different shapes, flavors, colors, and sizes. 

 

Fruits and vegetables:

Fruits and vegetables make up to 20% of the diet for  grey parrots. Light-colored and watery vegetables usually provide an extremely compact nutritional value. Whereas yellow, orange, and red vegetables contain vitamin A, which is best for your bird. Examples of these veggies include peppers, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots. In the case of fruits, please don’t feed your grey parrot or any other bird with avocados, as food experts report it to be extremely toxic for birds. 

 

Grey Parrots that are stressed, young, injured, raising young, or laying eggs need extra care and perfect nutrition. So, we recommend consulting with your veterinarian when your bird is going through such a stage.

 

If you want to read more about Top Best Food for Parrots, please visit.

 

Breeding Process

The breeding process of Grey Parrots includes mating various times a day for several weeks before they lay the first egg. 

 

A Grey Parrot female lay down an averaged two to five eggs during the process of breeding. After this, the eggs stay in the incubation period for around 28 to 30 days, and then they should hatch. 

 

Near the time of hatching, the food consumption of parent birds increases significantly, as they have to raise the chicks as well as feed them with the reserved food stock. 

 

African Grey Parrots lay eggs about one to two times a year. However, this is only an estimation. The number of egg-laying processes may differ according to the different factors like environment, parrot’s age, parrot’s health etc.  

 

In the free form or wild, the Grey Parrot lays two to three eggs. And these eggs go through an incubation period of about 21 to 30 days. Normally, babies scoot off the nest after the hatching period. 

Habitat 

You can find Grey Parrots in their natural or wild habitat in lowland forests, which showcases the prosperity of vegetation. But finding them at higher altitudes wouldn’t be a surprise. 

 

DID YOU KNOW? African Grey Parrots can breathe up to 7,000 ft above sea level.

 

Other than lowland forests, the frequent habitats of African grey parrots include savannas, mangrove forests, gallery forests, clearings, and even gardens and city parks.  

 

African Grey Parrots Health Importance

As any other individual in this entire world, birds also need greater attention to their health conditions. Their diet, exercise, mental conditions, and other physical conditions are vital subjects of their health importance. 

 

The grey parrots going through physical or emotional changes may encounter mental health issues, including stress, aggressiveness, mood swings, and things that a five-year-old child may experience. 

 

Sometimes, disturbing mental and physical health results from the negative impact caused by a previous bad owner or unhealthy environment. In that case, your grey parrot may show its rude side or get annoyed over little things. 

 

To keep them physically healthy and active, you must feed them nutritious foods and avoid giving them fat, as African grey parrots are vulnerable to obesity. 

 

Play with your Parrots to keep them mentally active. Speak different words or songs so that they won’t get mood swings. 

 

Besides all this, let them fly by preparing enormous cages for them. Exercise is really important to African grey parrots because those who live in wild and free conditions, are healthy and active.

 

Diseases: 

Some of the most common diseases that African Greys Parrots are vulnerable to are calcium deficiency, psittacosis (parrot fever), vitamin A and D deficiency, Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD), obesity, and respiratory infection. You can read further about Diseases in Parrots, Symptoms and Treatment, Complete Guide.

 

Other than these, here are some other diseases: 

• Proventricular Dilatation Disease: A viral infection that attacks a bird’s digestive tract. When a bird goes through such a disease, it will get depressed and lose weight.
• Fatty Liver Disease: In this, the bird’s liver replaces healthy cells with fat and becomes large, thus putting pressure on other body parts. 

 

How to Take Good Care of Your African Grey Parrot?

Although these parrots seem quite smart, which is the reason behind their fancy title “Einstein the Bird,” they do need special care. 

 

But the lovely thing is, they develop a deep bond with their owner and hence can show their playful side, which eventually and positively boosts their mental health.

 

As we’ve mentioned earlier, a balanced diet is best to care for grey parrots’ physical health. In fact, you can feed them with pellets and seeds mixed with fruits and veggies that are high in calcium and vitamins, especially vitamin A and D. 

 

You must have read in the Diseases section that these birds are prone to obesity. Now, it means if you are planning to keep a grey parrot as a pet for a decade or a lifetime. You must make sure they get adequate exercise outside their confinement in order to keep them healthy for all their life.

 

A few hours outside the cage every day can boost their physical health as well as mental ability.  

 

If you don’t care about these minor things, the pet bird will get noisy, irritated, mentally destructive, physically sick, and the list keeps on going. However, taking care of these gigantic birds is not as difficult as it sounds. You should enjoy it if you love pets. 

 

Interesting Facts

Here are some exciting facts that you would love to know about your African grey parrot:

• Grey parrots are sexually monogamous.
• One of their protection tricks is biting and becoming larger by fluffing up. 
• They are the masters of mimics.
• They can live longer than their owners (70+ year lifespan).
• They have the intellect of a toddler, making them one of the world’s intelligent animals. 
• They can speak up to 1000 vocabularies and mimic various sounds from their surroundings. 
• In the wild, grey parrots can travel 10 kilometers per day. 
• They are amazingly social. It means that grey parrots can live in a group containing almost 1000 birds and handle complicated social relations.
• They can get moody, refuse things, avoid interaction just like a 3 to 5-year-old child.
• They can recognize different colors and shapes.
• Grey parrots can learn to read.
• They can learn number sequences.
• They can hold a conversation with their human owners.
• Their brainpower is almost equal to that of gorillas and dolphins.
• They can ask questions if they don’t understand something.
• Because of their region (Africa), they can bear dry, tropical climates. 
• The international union for the conservation of nature (IUCN) has officially declared that African grey parrots are endangered.
• They hunt in flocks because of their trait of being highly social.
• They can sing too.
• They cost about somewhere between $1000 to $4000. In addition, females and younger grey parrots are more expensive than male grey parrots.

Conclusion 

That’s pretty much it for the African grey parrots. Now, look at the right-hand panel, select your favorite bird, and read about their interesting nature.