African Grey

African Grey parrots are known to be one of the most talented parrot species when it comes to imitating sounds.

I still vividly remember Chaco, our African Grey from my teenage childhood. Chaco came to us from friends who couldn't cope with two parrots anymore so they let Chaco find a new home which happened to be us.

Up until then I didn't know much about African Grey parrots and what it meant to have a parrot pet in our family.

African Greys or Psittacus erithacus parrots are medium-sized parrots feeding mainly on nuts, fruits and leafy supplements in the wild. As a pet, African Greys love their food like any other bird and it isn't rare to see them eating yoghurt, and goodies like pasta. Read more on parrot food and parrot toys by visiting our other pages.

African Grey background information

Originally endemic to the rainforests of Central and West Africa, the African Grey is highly intelligent and makes a fabulous pet for people who have the time and devotion to look after their feathered friend.

His ability to imitate speech is astounding and it wasn't rare that Chaco imitated the sound of water, the television news flash or various words and sentences.

Image: Wikipedia

Naturally, the African Grey is grey feathered with either a dark maroon colored tail (Timneh African Grey) or a red tail (Congo African Grey). Our Chaco was a Congo subspecies.

As a pet these species are actually protected by the CITES who list them as an endangered species and the trade of wild caught parrots is actually restricted. They are considered an expensive pet bird because they often fetch around $2,000+ in the market.

If you are toying with the idea of buying an African Grey parrot, ensure that you have adequate time for the bird. Parrots who are left to their own devices will get depressed and often start to pick their feathers or even become aggressive.

As a pet bird, African Greys are an amazing companion who will provide you with hours of laughter and fun. They are also quite easy to train if you are prepared to invest some time and patience. You also need to be prepared to give your bird freedom on a daily basis and take him out of his cage. African Greys need a lot of stimulation and attention and might not be suited to a family with small kids. They are high maintenance in regards to the time required if you want a happy, healthy parrot pet bird.

Your African Grey is a social bird and loves to receive attention from the family. It might be helpful if you trained the bird to accept some commands to help him integrate into the family.

To read more about feeding and training your African Grey, visit our African Grey training page.