07/08/2023
The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in),[8] and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in).[9] The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.
Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red.[10] Both sexes appear similar.[8] The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds,[11] and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey.[8] Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).[12]
Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.
Distribution and habitat
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 the Ivory Coast.[13][14] Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide.[14] The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.
A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992.[15] They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline.[16] Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.[16]
Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally
Bird behaviours
Little is known about the behaviours and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. Two greys were recorded while roosting in Zaire and researchers reported that they had a repertoire of over 200 different sounds, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.
They are mostly frugivorous as most of their diet consists of fruit, nuts, and seeds. The species prefers oil palm fruit and they eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails.[10] In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.[19] In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium