The African Grey
African Grey
Length: 33cms/13 inches 
Weight: 400-650 grams
Life Span: 40-50 years
Incubation: 28 days
Age at Weaning: 12-16 weeks
Age at Maturity: 3-4 years
Natural Habitat: Central Africa, Tanzania, Western KenyaAfrican
Grey parrots are birds of the lowland forests and coastal mangroves. They congregate in large flocks at roosting sites. They start to congregate at these roosting sites from before dusk till after night fall. Several hundred birds use the same roost. Favourite roosting sites are tall trees bordering forests, in forest clearings or on island on lakes or rivers. They tend to follow regular routes to and from roosting sites, flying high about he tree tops calling loudly. Their call consists of high pitched screams and whistles and when alarmed a harsh screech.
Their distribution is largely identical to the range of the African oil palm, the fruit of which forms the bulk of the birds diet. They frequently visit open country and savannah woodlands to feed, they also raid maize crops causing considerable damage! Their normal diet is found in the treetops, and it consists of seeds, nuts, fruits and berries.
The nesting site is usually as high as possible in a tree hollow. A normal clutch consists of 3-4 eggs, occasionally 5. Nesting is usually from July to September in Uganda, early August in the Congo, January in Nigeria and April in Liberia.
The adult plumage of the African Grey is generally a pale grey color. Feathers of the head and neck are margined with whitish grey and those of the abdomen with dark grey. The rump is very pale grey and their primaries are covered by very dark grey almost black feathers. Their tail and adjacent tail covets red and their legs are dark grey. The facial area is whitish with a bare skin patch around the eyes, their iris’s are pale grayish-yellow and their beak is black. The eyes of the younger birds are grey but change to grayish-yellow in adulthood.