Grey parrot

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also called the Congo grey parrot, belongs to the parrot family Psittacidae and is native to Africa. It was once known simply as the African grey parrot, but that name now also covers a separate species, the Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh), which was previously considered a subspecies. The grey parrot is famous for its intelligence and ability to mimic human speech, ranking among the smartest birds.

Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus first described the grey parrot in 1758, placing it in the genus Psittacus (Latin for "parrot") with all other parrots then known. He gave it the scientific name Psittacus erithacus; the species name comes from an Ancient Greek word for a bird said to imitate human sounds, possibly the black redstart. Linnaeus mistakenly listed the type locality as "Guinea," later corrected to Ghana in West Africa. Today, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot remain in the genus Psittacus. The Clements Checklist recognizes two subspecies: the nominate P. e. erithacus, found from Ivory Coast to Kenya, Tanzania, and several islands including Príncipe, São Tomé, and Bioko; and the Príncipe grey parrot (P. e. principe), restricted to Príncipe island. The IOC, however, classifies the Príncipe bird as a subspecies of the Timneh parrot.

The species lives in equatorial Africa, from Kenya west to Ivory Coast, including Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, and Uganda. Global population estimates vary widely, from 630,000 to 13 million birds, but numbers are declining. Grey parrots prefer dense forests but also inhabit forest edges, gallery forests, and savanna woodlands. A 2015 study found the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana, with populations dropping 90–99% since 1992; only 10 of 42 forested areas still held birds, and three roosts that once hosted 700–1,200 individuals each now contained just 18 total. Locals blamed the pet trade and logging. Populations appear stable in Cameroon, but in the eastern Congo, about 15,000 birds are taken annually for the pet trade, despite a stated quota of 5,000. In Florida, escaped or released grey parrots have been observed since at least 1984, but no breeding population has been confirmed.

Medium to large, the grey parrot is mostly grey with a black bill. It weighs about 400 g, measures roughly 33 cm long, and has a wingspan of 46–52 cm. The head and wings are darker than the body; feathers have fine white edges. Tail feathers are red, sometimes with black touches. Males and females look alike. Juveniles have dark grey to black eyes, while adults have yellow irises around dark pupils, and young birds have grey undertail coverts. Adults weigh 418–526 g. In captivity, they can live 40–60 years, but in the wild the average lifespan is about 23 years. They begin breeding at 3–5 years and lay 3–5 eggs per brood.

Wild grey parrots are secretive and difficult to study due to their status as prey and limited research funding. They imitate a wide range of sounds, just like captive birds. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two recorded roosting greys had a repertoire of over 200 calls, including nine imitations of other bird songs and one of a bat.

Their diet is mainly fruit, nuts, and seeds, especially oil palm fruit, but they also eat flowers, tree bark, insects, and snails. They sometimes feed on the ground.

Grey parrots are monogamous and nest in tree cavities, each pair requiring its own tree. The female lays 3–5 eggs and incubates them for 30 days while the male feeds her. Both parents defend the nest. Chicks weigh 12–14 g at hatching and 372–526 g when they leave the nest at about 12 weeks. Parents continue to care for them for 4–5 weeks after fledging. Little is known about their courtship in the wild.

Natural predators include palm-nut vultures, several raptors, and monkeys that take eggs and young. Humans pose the greatest threat. Between 1994 and 2003, over 359,000 grey parrots were traded internationally; roughly 21% of the wild population was harvested each year. Mortality rates are high.