African Grey Parrot

This parrot of West and Central African rainforest goes on learning new sounds throughout its life instead of hatching with a fixed set of calls. In decades of laboratory work by Irene Pepperberg, a bird named Alex used spoken English labels for objects, colours and shapes and answered simple questions about number.

• Flocks have been watched gathering in swampy forest clearings in the Congo Basin to eat soil and drink.
• The smaller, darker Timneh parrot of the far west of Africa, with a maroon tail, was treated as the same species until 2012.
• In a 2020 experiment, grey parrots passed tokens to a neighbour who could trade them for food, although the giver gained nothing at the time.
• Young birds have dark grey eyes; the iris turns pale yellow as they mature.
• Surveys in Ghana published in 2016 estimated that the population there had fallen by at least 90 per cent since the early 1990s.

African Grey Parrot is diurnal, roosting communally and feeding by day.

Habitat: Tropical forest, forest edge, and woodland feeding areas.

Native range: Central and western Africa in forested regions.

African Grey Parrot feeds on seeds, nuts, fruit, berries, and palm foods.

African Grey Parrot is diurnal, roosting communally and feeding by day.

Captive birds have lived 40 to 60 years, though many die younger. Lifespan in the wild is poorly measured and is thought to be considerably shorter.

In the wild, females lay eggs in tree cavities and both parents help. Clutches are of 2 to 5 eggs, which the female incubates for about 30 days while the male feeds her. Chicks leave the nest at around 12 weeks.

The sexes look similar to most observers. Males average slightly larger, with a broader and flatter head, but the overlap is too wide for the difference to be used in the field.

Rarity: Relatively common · 30/100. Trapping and forest loss have reduced many wild African grey populations.

• Keep distance and let the animal choose the space.
• Avoid blocking movement routes, nesting areas, or feeding behavior.
• Use optics, patience, and quiet observation instead of crowding for a closer view.