Fact Sheet: African Gray Parrot
Psittacus erithacus erithacus
Description:
 Size: 12-14 inches
o Wingspan: 7-8 inches (18-20 cm)
o Is the largest African parrot
 Weight: 14.3-17.6 ounces (407-500 grams)
 Description: Medium-sized parrot with gray body feathers and bright red tail feathers
o The male African gray looks similar to the female, but becomes darker with age
o Skin around the eye is naked
o Beak is black
In the Wild
Habitat and Range:
 Native to central, eastern Africa through the Congo Basin and into southwest Kenya
 Lives primarily in rainforests, but may also be found in riparian forests and mangroves
 Are non-migratory but travel considerable distances in search of fruiting trees
 Travel seasonally, moving toward more wet areas during the dry season
 May have a large home range area, making short-distance movements between feeding
and nesting sites
Diet:
 Herbivorous: Primarily eat nuts and fruit, supplemented by leaves, berries, blossoms,
seeds, nectar and pollen
Adaptations:
 Are very social birds
o Typically live in flocks of 10 to 20 individuals
o Flock size is related to the presence or absence of food
 Powerful beak can crush most seeds and nuts and is also useful in climbing around tree
branches and in defense – when threatened, will fluff up feathers to look larger and may
use strong beak to bite
 Able to communicate with each other using a variety of shrill squawks and whistles
including contact calls, alarm calls, food begging calls and agonistic (aggressive or
defensive) calls
o Alarm calls indicate varying levels of distress – these calls are particularly loud
and of a frequency that carries well in order to warn fellow flock members
o Contact calls are of particular importance because they serve to identify where
other members of the flock are and help promote flock cohesion
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African Gray Parrot
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
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o Young learn these vocalizations from parents and flock mates, so pet parrots will
not learn appropriate vocalizations, but will show similar patterns and use of
calls
Feathers produce a powder on their flanks that they spread over their feathers
o Helps to clean and protect their feathers
o Also makes their feathers waterproof, a necessary adaptation for surviving in a
tropical climate
Are commonly seen in the wild on the ground at waterholes where they ingest mud and
minerals – researchers believe this behavior compensates for increased pesticide and
toxin levels in their food since the soil eaten may absorb the toxins they would
otherwise ingest
Lifespan:
 Between 20-45 years; can live up to 60 years
Ecosystem relationships:
 Predators: Birds of prey, humans
 African Grays play an important role in its habitat by helping to propagate the forest
o Because not all of the seeds they eat are digested, many are passed in the bird's
guano over new areas of the forest
o Eating nectar is important in the pollination of many species of plants
Reproduction:
 Reach sexual maturity at 3-5 years of age
 Monogamous and form strong pair bonds
 There is no defined breeding season, but breeding appears to occur most often during
the dry season
 In the wild, create nests in hollows high up in trees
o Prefer trees over-hanging water, particularly trees on islands in rivers
o Use bark and wood dust from the tree as nesting material
o Normally only one pair will use a hollow, but occasionally up to three pairs may
nest in the same tree
 Females incubate the eggs but both males and females assist with rearing the hatchlings
o Incubation lasts about a month
o Clutch size is typically 2 or 3 eggs
o Hatchlings typically fledge after about 3 months
 Typically breed once (sometimes twice) a year
Activity:
 Diurnal
Other “fun facts”:
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African Gray Parrot
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
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Also known as the Congo Grey Parrot
There are two subspecies of the Grey Parrot - the timneh and the erithicus
Dr. Irene Pepperberg has studied animal behavior and animal-human communications
since 1977 through the Alex Foundation – Alex, the most famous African Gray, was able
to count, identify objects, shapes, colors, and materials, knew the concepts of same and
different, and could even tell the lab assistants what to do in order to modify his
environment
o Alex achieved a rudimentary form of communication, including contextual and
conceptual use of human speech
o Showed that African grey parrots are capable of far more than simply mimicking
human speech
Conservation Status and Threats:
 Listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered
 Listed under CITES Appendix II – The U.S. Wild Bird Act forbids the commercial import of
any bird listed by CITES which includes most parrots, endangered or threatened
 Wild population is in serious decline
o Very popular pet species because of their mimicking ability, which has fueled the
trade of wild-caught birds
 Studies suggest that 21% of the wild population is harvested each year
specifically for the pet trade
 Many individuals die during transport to pet stores
o Loss of habitat due to deforestation, pollution and encroachment are also
responsible for the population decline
o Also impacted by hunting by locals and indiscriminate use of pesticides
At the Zoo
Echo hatched in 2000 and was acquired from a breeder in 2001. She weighs approximately 14
oz (400 grams). Her diet at the Zoo consists of parrot pellets, fruit and vegetables. Like many
African grey parrots, Echo is an excellent mimic.
What We Can Do
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Make sure you know the origin of the products you buy – buying something imported
illegally supports the black market by sustaining demand
o Ex. Rosewood is still being illegally imported from Madagascar despite bans on
logging because people are still buying it
Do your research before buying a pet
o Make sure you are not purchasing a wild-caught individual – captive-bred species
are often easy to find
o Make sure you know how to properly care for any animal before you decide to
buy it as a pet – parrots are very demanding pets
 Parrots require a good deal of attention every day and may be unhappy if
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African Gray Parrot
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
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left in a cage all day
Parrots have extremely strong beaks and owners may be bitten
They are very noisy, particularly if they are not given much attention, and
are extremely messy
They require large cages that need to be cleaned regularly
Parrots can outlive their owners – if they do, it is often difficult to find
them a new home
References:
 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Psittacus_erithacus/
 http://www.saczoo.org/document.doc?id=482
 http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomate
s/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/aves/psittaciformes/african-gray-parrot.htm
 http://www.senecaparkzoo.org/directory.aspx?category=Education%20Collection&ai
d=56
12/8/2016
African Gray Parrot
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore