African Grey Parrots - Are They The Smartest Parrots?

There are numerous beautiful birds that exist today; some sing or talk more than others, some are more intelligent than others and some make great pets. One particular parrot is called the African Grey Parrot. This African parrot is one particular bird that is not only beautiful, it is very smart, has the ability to speak many words and makes a good pet for bird lovers.

In addition to their high level of intelligence within bird species and their ability to have a big vocabulary, the African Grey is also admired for their coloring. The colors are not vibrant like many parrots you may find in the jungle or zoo, but this parrot is sleek and elegant. African Grey's are of two different families, one is the Congo African Grey and the other is the Timneh African Grey. As the name states the bird is of a grey color but the Congo has a lighter grey compared to the Timneh whose grey is darker. Both types do have a colored tail, the Congo's is red and the Timneh's is maroon.

The African Grey's Characteristics

The African parrots are considered to be medium sized and their length can be 10 to 14 inches. Within many bird species, the male usually has more vibrant colors than the female but this parrot the coloring is the same for both the males and females. There is one physical characteristic between the males and females and that is that the female has a narrower head as well as a slender neck. The life span is quit long and they can live around 60 years in age.

When choosing this African parrot for a pet, it is best to keep in mind its long life span as well as its intelligence level. Are you willing to commit to this responsibility for a very long period of time? In regards to the parrots intelligence, just like a human, it needs constant interaction otherwise it will be bored. If a human becomes bored, they can have behavior problems and this is the same for the African Grey. Understanding the needs of this African parrot is very important so that it will receive a quality of life that it deserves as it won't be living in its natural environment.

Knowing the history and behaviors of the African Grey, it will help you to provide both physical and mental activities so that your parrot will maintain a healthy life and have a good behavior pattern. Although the parrot is relatively easy to care for, it does require discipline to keep up the good behavior. If there is no discipline or interaction with the African parrot to keep its mind occupied in a positive manner, the parrot might begin to be cranky or even show negative behavior such as feather picking, chew on its cage or even bite. If the African parrot is left unattended to for too long without positive interaction, the parrot may also begin to cause self-infliction; this can lead to very serious physical complications.

The beak is extremely hard and strong as it is used as a tool to not only search for as well as other uses. By nature, African Grey's are extremely social birds; they tend to group together and will show affection for one another. In captivity, the parrot's owner tends to be considered the parrots flock and the parrot will show certain signs of affection to the owner. The African parrot may not prefer a lot of cuddling from its owner but it does enjoy having its head petting or scratched. One deep sign of affection is when the parrot will regurgitate and may even try to "kiss" the owner's mouth (the human mouth has many bacteria that could harm the bird) so try to prevent the "kiss" of possible.