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Senegal Parrot
Senegal is a sweet and cuddly bird, who is a favorite pet for bird lovers. These are darling parrots who offer a sweet surprise to all who come near them. In the wild, you can mostly find them in the edges where the wooded areas meet with savannah or grassland areas. When made pet, Senegal parrots are mostly quiet but can imitate speech and noises.
They are active birds who love to enjoy their playtime and come out of their cages. But watch out, some Senegal may even bite you when they get upset or frustrated. They are very intelligent but some individuals can be a little more excited than others; however most are quite calm. Senegal Parrots mostly become fond of one person in the family. They are generally very affectionate and love to nuzzle.
The mature Senegal parrots are generally eight to nine inches in length. They look beautiful with bright yellow eyes, dark gray or black heads and necks and wings. The breasts of Senegal parrots are green, orange and yellow. They boast a yellow V shaped pattern that may go beyond to the abdominal area, their vest. On an average, the Senegal Parrots live for about 20 and 30 years, however they can even live longer if given proper care.
Senegal parrots have three subspecies – Poicephalus senegalus senegalus, P. s. versteri, and P. s. Mesotypus, i.e. the nominate, red bellied and orange bellied, respectively. These subspecies are different in look and also their choices of natural habitat. Nominate carries a yellow orange or yellow green chest pattern; the mesotypus has a flat orange colored chest pattern, paler green body and yellow color under the wings; the red bellied have yellow under wings, deep and reddish orange on front side of the belly. P.s. senegalus is found in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, P.s. Mesotypus is native to eastern and north east Nigeria, northern Cameroon and southwest Chad, while P.s. versteri is resident of Ivory Coast, Ghana east to West Nigeria.
Senegal Parrot is a recent addition in the list of pet parrots and is the most famous Poicephalus parrot in aviculture. Hand brought up Senegal parrots mostly become excellent pets. They are curious and fun loving birds that are quite relaxed as compared to several other parrots.
Senegals are energetic and amusing birds, who are by and large sweet. They speak in limited style and have a highly screaky voice. They learn to mimic sounds naturally, such as kisses, microwave beeps, whistling and smoke alarms. They are notorious for their jealousy from other family members and pets. As an owner, you should be cautious.
As a pet, Senegals are normally fed a good seed or pellet diet, along with fresh fruits and vegetables. You can also sometimes give them thin cooked meat or pet biscuits as a delicacy. Fresh foods that can be given are carrots, eggplant, green peas, cucumber, dandelion greens, beet greens, sweet corn, lettuce, sorrel, green peppers, tomatoes, spinach leaves and zucchini. Preferred fruits are apples, pineapples, apricots, bananas, and other fresh fruits.