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 sacrifice to Legba was completed; the Master of the Crossroads had taken the loas mysterious routes back to his native Guinea.
Meanwhile, the feast continued. The peasants were forgetting their misery: dance and alcohol numbed them, carrying away their shipwrecked conscience in the unreal and shady regions where the savage madness of the African gods lay waiting.”
—Jacques Roumain (19071945)
“On the grey rock of Cashel I suddenly saw
A Sphinx with woman breast and lion paw,
A Buddha, hand at rest,
Hand lifted up that blest;
And right between these two a girl at play
That, it may be, had danced her life away....”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)
“This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! Its expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! Its a stiff!... THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!”
—Monty Pythons Flying Circus. Monty Pythons Flying Circus (TV series)