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Grey Parrot
Grey Parrot or African Grey Parrot has been fondly called as the "cadillac of parrots," the perfect mix of beauty and brains. Greys are for sure the exotic birds and are not strange to find in the aviary collections. As compared to many other parrot species, they are comparatively easy to breed as a pet and are fairly priced, averagely sized and adjust well in humans’ company.
Since thousands of years, African grey parrot has been one of the most charming parrots. African grey parrots are being kept as pets for more than 4000 years. It is said that the Egyptians used to first keep the African grey parrot as pets, as described in their hieroglyphics. Greeks also valued the African grey parrot as pets. Romans used to consider them as intelligent birds and keep them in highly decorated cages. The tradition to keep the African grey parrot carried on to the period of King Henry VIII and kept them as a pet. Since those days, the African grey parrot is also kept as a valued pet.
The African Grey is mainly of grey color. You can notice a white area around its eye and an attractive red tail. The African Grey Parrot is a medium size parrot, native to Africa. Some of their feathers are quite dark grey in color and there are several others who are light grey in color. Grey parrots have red or maroon tails as per their subspecies. They mainly feed on nuts and fruits, added on by leafy things.
African Grey parrots are 13 inches in length and in this way they are a large bird but have a small tail. They have an average lifespan of 50 to 65 years. The male African grey has a flat and broad head and is usually one inch big in size as compared to the female parrots. The female Grey parrots have a long and slimmer neck. There is a small rounded head as compared to the male. Female parrots have a more elliptical shape of the eye, while male has a more round one. The male Congo African Gray parrot is generally darker on the wings. It has red feathers round the vent.
As a pet, the Grey parrot is a real delight of the owners. Though relatively quiet, they are famous as the best parrot in the art of mimicry. Grey can understand your language and can also use it. Greys can be very moody and nippy at times. They have an inclination to hook feathers when they get bored. They make their bond with just one person in the family. They are generally priced around $1000.
There are two subspecies of African Grey Parrot – Congo African Grey parrot and Timneh African Grey parrot. The former are large birds, about 12 inches long with light grey feathers, red tail and black beak, while Timneh species are small in size with a dark charcoal gray coloring and maroon tail. They have a light color upper mandible.