Buy an African Grey Parrot

Buy an African Grey Parrot . Psittacus erithacus (African Grey Parrot), a parrot species (order Psittaciformes) distinguished by its striking, jagged grey plumage. The African Grey Parrot is native to a large part of Africa, from the offshore islands in the Atlantic Ocean, including São Tomé and Príncipe, to eastern Ivory Coast, through Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Some experts recognize a smaller, darker variant, Psittacus erithacus timneh, as a separate species, the Timneh Parrot (P. timneh). Its range extends from Guinea-Bissau in the south and east to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast.

Physical characteristics

A grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) perched. The nominate subspecies and most common subspecies, P. erithacus erithacus, also known as the Congo African grey parrot, is silver-grey in color; the color is darker on the head and wings and lighter on the belly. Head and body feathers are edged in white, giving the birds a scaly appearance. The tail feathers are bright red. Red feathers may also appear randomly among the body feathers of older birds.

South African breeders have selectively bred for this latter trait for many generations, resulting in entirely red birds that sell for exorbitant sums. The face is covered with bare white skin, which can blush when the bird is excited. The iris of the eye is black at hatching and lightens to a yellowish silver as the bird matures. The beak is black. P. erithacus timneh is a darker steel-grey with a darker chestnut-brown tail and an upper mandible that darkens from shell-pink at the base to black at the tip.

The grey parrot exhibits slight sexual dimorphism, with males being larger. P. erithacus erithacus is 30 to 40 cm long and weighs 400–650 grams. Psittacus erithacus timneh is smaller, about 23–28 cm long and weighing 250–375 grams.