P. erithacus erithacus Description: African Grey Parrot has a simple colour scheme: the body plumage is grey, but this varies in shade from region to region and males are usually darker than females. The feathers of the head and neck are margined with very pale grey: the rump is so pale a grey as to [...]
Affrican Parrots
Africa is the largest continent in which parrots are found but contains the smallest numbers of species and from only four genera. In terms of numbers kept by aviculturists, only the Lovebirds are numerous and these warrant a separate chapter. Of the remainder, the Grey Parrot, the only member of the genus Psittacus, has the [...]
One of the problems in introducing two Grey Parrots as a potential breeding pair is that, even though they may be of the opposite sex, they will not necessarily prove compatible. Some of the larger parrots are extremely discriminating over the choice of a mate. A guide to sexing these birds was offered by E. [...]
African Grey Parrots also learn to imitate the sounds around them, sometimes to the annoyance of members of the household who cannot distinguish between the ring of the telephone and the Grey’s imitation. A Grey Parrots in my possession would imitate to perfection the radio time signals and the squeaking of the door of a [...]
In voice, behaviour and character, this species has a lot in common with the Grey Parrot. It is quite capable of being noisy and of emitting a harsh scream – yet seldom does so. And the female in my possession is an extremely quiet bird, never screaming and making soft ‘hoo’ sounds like a Jardine’s [...]
Feeding newly imported parrots is not as straightforward as feeding those which are established. Now that quarantine is compulsory in most countries, it will normally be the importer who has the sometimes difficult task of weaning young parrots from soft foods such as boiled maize. This should be mixed with soaked sunflower seed and eventually [...]