African Grey Parrots commonly call African grays is native to rainforests of central Africa ranging in a band across the continent from Côte d’Ivoire to western Kenya. The largest parrot in Africa, this species has silver feathers, a white mask, and a bright, reddish tail. Males and females are very similar in appearance.
What is a gray parrot?
Their colors may be less stunning than other parrots, but African grays are bright in other ways: They’re among the smartest birds in the world and the greatest mimic of human speech among the 350 or so known parrot species. Research has shown that the birds possess cognitive skills equal to that of a five-year-old child. They will also help members of their species, even complete strangers, without expecting their altruism to be reciprocated.
Behavior and mating
African grays is highly social species, flying through the sky in noisy flocks and roosting in big groups amid the treetops each evening. They feed in smaller groups of about 30, eating foods like oil palm nuts and the berries of the cola plant, grasping them in their claws and tearing them open with their strong beak. The birds will also sometimes raid human crops, such as maize.
The pet threat
Because of their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech, African grays are the most popular pet bird in the world. The birds breed well in captivity, and at least 1.3 million gray parrots that have been export legally from Africa over the past four decades, particularly to countries in the Middle East. (Learn more: Have parrots become too popular for their own good?)