The Intelligent African Grey Parrot
The African Grey parrot is among the most beautiful and easiest of the parrot family to keep. These parrots are from Central Africa, they are very intelligent and are well known for their cognitive and talking abilities. African Greys communicate extremely well with their owners and can usually develop a good vocabulary.
They grow to around 10 to 14 inches in length, and that therefore seen as a medium-sized parrot. African Grey parrots come in two different types. There is a Congo African Grey, which is light Grey and has a red tail. The Timneh African Grey is a darker charcoal Grey with a maroon tail. Generally the males are larger than the females. The males are generally 12 to 14 inches in length. Actually both sexes will the same, one way to spot the difference is female African Grey parrot have a thinner neck and narrower head.
These parrots require an owner, who will make a long-term commitment to them. African Greys can live as long as 60 years. Because of their high intelligence, African Greys require an owner that is experienced and who can understand their needs. The easily become bored so an interactive environment and stimulation is important. African Greys need their intellectual needs met otherwise their boredom could turn to feather picking and other behavioral problems.
Since they are so sensitive this can lead to behavioral problems. It seems that even small changes to their daily routine and surroundings can lead to an African Grey parrot becoming cranky and frustrated. In the most part these birds are typically well behaved and great pets, however there can be challenges. Undisciplined African Greys can get into some trouble. They could bite and chew things. They are very quick to pick up behaviors, and so if you reinforce negative habits in your African Grey, you could also just as easily reinforce good ones.
African Grey parrot’s make fantastic pets because they are sociable birds. The natural instinct is to flock together in the wild. An African Grey parrot living in a home environment will usually adopt the family into their flock. There has been reports of them actually cuddling family members. Although these birds don’t always like intense physical contact, even so, they do seem to like head scratching and petting. The birds strange signs of affection will not put off an experienced African Grey owner.
A deep sign of affection for an African Grey is regurgitation, and they will even try to kiss their owners on the mouth. It is not recommended that you allow the bird to kiss you, because humans mouths contain bacteria that is harmful to the birds. It is also very important the owners really understand the birds need for companionship.
African Grey parrots have amazing personalities, as well as human like qualities.If you are lucky enough to own one, you will see an intelligence unequaled by many other animals.
Malc Moore has been interested in parrots and aviary birds for many years and finds them both fascinating and joyful to be around. For more information on the african grey parrot breeder and parrot breeders tips, check out www.parrotcare4u.com.
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