Alex's Page
Artoo's Page
Memory of Arwen
Described as the perfect combination of brains and beauty, African Greys are probably best known for their amazing ability to mimic not only the human voice but also an impressive array of environmental sounds. Their intellectual capacity is that of a 5 year old child with the emotions of a 2 year old.
Their origins are from the lowland forests of Central Africa.
There are two subspecies:
* Congo (Red-Tailed) African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus erithacus
* Timneh African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus timneh
Congo African greys are larger birds with light grey feathers, deep red tails and black beaks. They vary in from 12-14 inches from beak to tail and can vary in weight between 400-650 grams depending on the frame of individual bird. The other subspecies, Timneh African greys, are smaller in size, ranging from 9-11 inches beak to tail, have a darker charcoal grey coloring, a darker maroon tail, and a lighter horn colored beak. A few authors recognize a third subspecies, Ghana African grey (Psittacus erithacus princeps), which is similar to the Congo African greys, but darker and slightly smaller.
The African Grey baby parrots will have dark grey to black eyes up until they are roughly 6 months of age when their eye color starts to lighten. By the time they reach a year, their eyes become a pale grey color. At about 1.5 to 2 yrs their eyes will turn a pale straw color. And lastly at about 3-4 years of age, they will have a light yellow iris. This is one way to be able to determine an estimate of how old a baby is when visiting bird stores. Grey's usually reach maturity at about 4-5 years of age.
Given the appropriate nutritional requirements in a nurturing home, African Grey's can have a lifespan of 50-70 years.
A Who's Who of African Greys includes Prudle and Alex. Famous for mimicry or intellect, Prudle holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest vocabulary, at 800 words, while Alex, incredibly, exhibits what can only be called cognitive abilities - he can talk, count, and…recognize colors. Alex lives in the laboratory of Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D., at the University of Arizona where she has been conducting extensive research over the past two decades.
Here are a few links to learn more about African Greys:
- Dr. Irene Pepperberg's Research