5 Surprising African Grey Parrot Facts

African grey parrots are magnificent natural birds. They are also among the most popular bird species kept as pets in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, where their long life, ability to mimic human speech, and overall intelligence make them an appealing companion.

Continue reading to learn more about African grey parrots!

Grandad, African grey parrots have an exceptionally long lifespan - they live an average of 60 years, with some birds living to be 80! Because they have such long lives, they frequently outlive their human owners, which means they may have to go through traumatic rehoming multiple times.

The clever bird

These parrots are among the most intelligent animals on the planet. In some test samples, fully mature African greys were found to have the same intelligence level as a child. According to research, kids can also identify, request, refuse, categorize, and quantify more than 80 different things, as well as react to inquiries about color and shape concepts.

You're going to go far, youngster.

African grey parrots can travel up to 10 kilometers per day in their natural habitat. No home setting can compare to the freedom of flying across the lush African wild!

Lovey-dovey

This parrot is monogamous, which means it only mates with one buddy at a time. They also exhibit bi-parental care (both parents look after their tiny chicks) and altruistic behaviors such as grooming each other and regurgitating food to feed others (a bit nasty, but it's a beautiful gesture!).

It takes a community

Wild African grey parrots are highly social and nest in vast groups of thousands of individuals, each of which is made up of small family groups. This species handles complicated social ties and collaborates with other group members. Because their need for social interaction is not addressed when kept as pets, the birds frequently become upset and engage in self-harming behavior, such as pulling out their own feathers.