African Grey Congo

The African Grey is known to be the best talkers of all parrots. There are two species of the African Grey, they are the Congo (Psittacus e. erithacus) and the Timneh (Psittacus e. timneh) .The Congo is the larger of the two types. It has a bright red tail and their beaks are black. Their plumage is pale grey, although some are dark grey.

The Timneh Grey is smaller than the African Grey. Its tail feathers are a maroon color, and its beak is sort of a reddish brown color. They are normally darker grey than the Congo. Both species have dark grey feet, bare facial areas and pale yellow irises.

COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN:
Western Kenya, Northern Angola, Southern Congo and Northwest Tanzania and the Islands of Fernando Poo and Principe’

SEXING:
Undeterminable by appearance.

SIZE:
The Congo is a medium sized parrot, about 13 inches long and weighing from 500 to 650 grams.

PERSONALITY:
These parrots are very affectionate, but can also be very shy. They tend to bond strongly with only one person. African Greys have a higher incidence of feather-picking than most parrot species. The Congo Grey is a very playful bird, and is very trainable.

TALKING ABILITY:
These birds often don’t speak well until they are approximately one-year-old, and not all may even speak. The African Greys are excellent talkers and mimics, these parrots can accurately imitate specific human voices and household noises such as the telephone , microwave, door bell , dogs barking, a cats meow, and on and on. The African Grey is said to be the best talker of all parrots, although they will not very often speak when a stranger is in the room.

LIFESPAN:
50 to 60 years and maybe even longer.