AFRICAN GREY

Status In The Wild: Endangered

The African Grey is a large and incredibly intelligent parrot species. Known for their sociability and amazing vocabulary, these birds are only suitable for the experienced bird owner.

APPEARANCE

Psittacus Erithacus is a grey parrot with darker edging on the feathers. For the first four months, a young grey will have black irises, but they will turn yellow by the time the parrot is four years old.

The adult Psittacus Erithacus measures around 13-inches long and weighs a little less than a pound.

VOCALIZATIONS

This parrot species is well known for its ability to vocalize. This parrot loves mimicking speech and sounds and can even learn hundreds of words and phrases during its lifetime.

When bored, the Psittacus Erithacus can create quite the vocal disturbance, so it is necessary to keep this parrot entertained!

LIFESPAN

Psittacus Erithacus lives to an average of twenty-three years in the wild. When kept in captivity, though, this intelligent bird can live anywhere from forty to sixty years!

LIFE AS A PET

Psittacus Erithacus is sociable to the point of extremism and requires ongoing interaction and mental stimulation to be happy. An unhappy grey will become depressed, destructive, and even self-harming.

Although greys are sociable with entire families when trained well, they often show an affinity for a particular family member.

PAIRING

Psittacus Erithacus is a loner and generally is not accepting of other birds in their space. This becomes a particularly dangerous situation for both birds if the grey has formed a very strong bond with a single family member.