African Grey Parrots

14 inches ( 36 cm ). Male and female. Overall color, gray; feathers on crown, forehead, nape, neck, and throat have lighter colored margins. Bare skin around eyes, whitish; tail, red; bill, black; feet, gray. The Timneh parrot ( P.e. timneh ) which like the Congo form (P.e. erithacus ) is commonly bred, has a horn-colored upper mandible and brown to russet tail feathers. It measures only 12 1/2 inches ( 32 cm ) and is clearly smaller than the Congo variety. Distribution in the wild: Equatorial Africa from the Ivory Coast in the west to western Kenya in the east, and south as far as northern Angola, southern Congo, and northwestern Tanzania. The gray parrot's distribution is largely identical to the range of the African oil palm, the fruit of which forms the bulk of the bird's diet. Habitat in the wild: Forested plains. Birds forage in sparsely wooded savannas, and open country. Occasionally, they are also found in mangrove swamps.

These guys are the Einsteins of the parrot world. African Greys are not only great talkers but have proven that they can actually understand what they are saying, as proven by the late great Alex.

African Greys need a very loving and attentive human companion. They need to be kept mentally active and challenged. Without a good bond and relationship with their human companion most Greys can become aggressive, withdrawn, and phobic. Boredom and a lack of intellectual stimulation and variety can make for a pretty miserable life for these intelligent birds. Their noise level is in the moderate to high range which makes an African Grey not a good choice for apartments, condos, or people with easily annoyed neighbors. If I were to venture a guess I would have to say that most African Greys kept as pets are of the Congo subspecies. The smaller darker African Grey Timnehs are just as good of talkers as their cousins the African Grey Congo and seem to be gaining in popularity. So the word is out: African Grey Timnehs are pretty cool birds too. A good mix of fresh veggies and fruit along with a pelleted diet, and a high quality nut and seed mix will keep your grey healthy and long lived. Minimum cage size requirement for these birds is 34" x 24. Make sure you have lots of toys to keep them stimulated.