African Greys African Greys African Greys African Greys African Greys African Greys African Greys African Greys African Greys African greys African Greys African Greys
African Greys
(Phsittacus Erithacus)
Above: Tikki the Congo African Grey Parrot.  Learn more about him HERE
The African Grey is an extremely intelligent Parrot.  They are generally excellent talkers and have fantastic and very distinct personalities.  They are perhaps the most popular and widly kept species of parrot kept as a pet, and it's not hard to see why!

There are two main recognised sub-species of African Grey.  The Congo African Grey and the Timneh African Grey.  They come from different areas of Africa and have some slight physical differences.  The Congo Grey has an all dark grey/black beak whereas the Timneh Grey has a light coloured patch on its upper mandabil.  The Timneh is also slightly smaller in size and has a duller red tail than the Congo.  The average life expectancy of an African grey is approximately 50-70 years.

Greys are well known for their talking abilities and can build up a vocabulary of hundreds of words, phrases and noises.  Research has proved that Greys are intelligent enough not just to mimic, but to actually understand human language and communicate wants and feelings among many other clever things.  Read about
the Alex studies by Dr Pepperburg at the Alex Foundation.  You'll be fascinated!

Some people are put off of african greys because they think that they are 'cold' and too independent.  I have to disagree!  My grey
is independent, but he is also extremely affectionate and loving.  He provides hours of entertainment and joy.  He does have a strong will and sense of what he wants, but I respect that as he respects me and we get along brilliantly!  I absolublty adore him.

Some people also think that Greys are one person birds.  This can be true, but by socializing the bird early with lots of different people (gently and slowly!), your grey will be accepting of strangers.  My CAG picks and chooses when he feels like being petted by strangers.  If you get to tickle him, feel very honoured!
Tikki happy on the shoulder of a near stranger- proving that Greys aren't cold one person birds!
Much more to come on African Greys, so come back soon!
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