The African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Grey Parrot, is a medium-sized parrot found in the primary and secondary rainforest of West and Central Africa. Experts regard it as one of the most intelligent birds in the world. They feed primarily on palm nuts, seeds, fruits, and leafy matter, but have also been observed eating snails. Their overall gentle nature and their inclination and ability to mimic speech have made them popular pets, which has led many to be captured from the wild and sold into the pet trade. The African Grey parrot is listed on CITES appendix II, which restricts trade of wild-caught species because wild populations can not sustain trapping for the pet trade.
Read more about African Grey Parrot: Taxonomy and Systematics, Longevity, Status and Conservation, Mimicry and Intelligence, Noises, Aviculture, Foods Toxic To Parrots, In Literature
Famous quotes containing the words african, grey and/or parrot:
“The treatment of African and African American culture in our education was no different from their treatment in Tarzan movies.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“Their holders have always seemed to me like a woman who should undertake at a state fair to run a sewing machine, under pretense of advertising it, while she had never spent an hour in learning its use.”
—Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815–1884)
“This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It’s expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It’s a stiff!... THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!”
—Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Monty Python’s Flying Circus (TV series)