Information on African Grey Parrot Birds

The scientific name for the African grey parrot is Psittacus erithacus erithacus, according to Birdboard.com. Common names for the African grey parrot include the jacko, jacquot, perroquet gris, perroquet jaco, loro yaco and yaco, according to Cities.org. African grey parrots are very social birds and are commonly kept in captivity as pets.

  1. Size

    • African grey parrots are typically measure 33 cm from head to tail, according to the Michigan Museum of Zoology. The average weight of a mature African grey parrot is 407 g. The average wingspan of the African grey parrot is between 46 and 52 cm.

    Geography

    • African grey parrots are commonly found in the forest belt of Central and West Africa, according to the Michigan Museum of Zoology. This includes the oceanic island of Principe in the Gulf of New Guinea. African grey parrots prefer to live in moist lowland forests, but are also found up to 2,200 m above sea level. African grey parrots are often sold to people in other parts of the world to keep as pets.

    Predators

    • The main predators of African grey parrots include hawks and falcons, according to Thebigzoo.com. Sometimes monkeys and other mammals that live in trees eat the eggs of the African grey parrot.

    Characteristics

    • African grey parrots are very social birds, according to Thebigzoo.com. Thousands of African grey parrots are commonly found in the same communal nesting area. Female African grey parrots lay between two and four eggs while males provide food for females while she sits on the egg. After chicks hatch both the male and female adults will provide food for them.

      African grey parrots are commonly known for their ability to mimic human voices when held in captivity. In the wild African grey parrots mimic the sounds of other birds and even bats. African grey parrots have been known to have vocabularies of up to 500 words. The African grey parrot has a diet consisting mainly of seeds, berries, nuts and fruit, according to Thebigzoo.com. These birds have strong bills that help them crack seeds and nuts.

    Time Frame

    • African grey parrots have an average life span of 45 years, according to Cities.org. Breeding starts at approximately 5 years.

    Taxonomy

    • African grey parrots belong to the animalia kingdom, chordate phylum, vertebrata subphylum, aves class, psittaciformes order, psittacidae family, psittacinae subfamily and the psittacus genus, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.