Taking Good Care of Your African Gray Parrot

African gay parrots are most charming and fascinating for many pet lovers and breeders all across the world. The main characteristics of this parrot which make it very charming are its wonderful character and beautiful combination of high intelligence and astonishing charm.

If you are one of those who are highly inspired by the beauty of these African grey parrots, you should first get lot of information about them before making a purchase.

Taxonomy tells that there are two subspecies of African grey parrots. These are:

· The Congo African gray

· Timneh African gray

Congo African grey parrots are slightly larger in size than Timneh variety and they also have bright, red tail feathers. Timneh variety is bit darker than Congo!

Both of these varieties also differ in their temperament. Timnehs are observed to be more laid back and less prone to feather picking and other neurotic behaviors compared to the Congo African gray. The life span of African grey parrots range from 25 to 50 years. Life span mainly depends upon the following factors:

• History of the bird
• Lifestyle
• Stress factors
• Diseases

African grey parrots are considered to be very intelligent as they have the ability to talk or mimic different sounds and noises. T

hey have the extraordinary unique capability of putting their words and sounds into the correct context!

But remember, there are many other behavioral issues also with this African Grey parrot with which you have to deal. As mentioned, this bird has lot of intelligence and that is why it demands lot of your time for mental stimulation. If you want to make this bird really charming you have to give it as much time as possible. These birds do a lot of nipping and biting when they get bored.

Let us learn some do’s and don’ts about these parrots:

1) Educate yourself a lot about the specie of your African grey parrot, if you really want to take good care of your parrot.

2) Always fulfill the basic needs of your African Grey Parrot like large and safe cage and good healthy diet. Wide range of toys, a reliable T stand, a gym or play stand and a commercial carrier are some basic needs of an African grey parrot.

3) Before buying an African Parrot make sure whether it is suited to your living space and lifestyle. These parrots require lot of your attention and clean healthy environment.

4) Keep well in mind that African grey parrot can be irritating to you because of its some characteristics. So think a lot before buying African grey parrot and keep remember the demanding nature of this parrot.

5) Never, ever buy an African Gray parrot on impulse because it can be quite stressful.

6) Ask the experts if you have any question in mind about these parrots

7) Make a list before visiting a breeder so that you don’t miss out the precious information you need to know in taking good care of your pet.

Tips on Choosing Best Pet Bird

The African gray parrot is considered as one of the oldest parrot species. They can be found in history as old as 4000 years ago. They originated from the wilds of Western and central Africa. They can be seen in Egyptian hieroglyphics depicting parrot pets of ancient pharaohs. Royal and Roman families used to keep these parrots as pets in their metaphorical cages. The Portuguese sailors used to have African gray parrots as pet, when they traveled on their colonial voyages.

African gray parrot is usually sub divided into two species:

1) Congo African gray parrot

2) Timneh African gray parrot.

Congo African gray parrot is scientifically known as Enthacus while Timneh African parrot is known as Timneh in the language of science. Both subspecies of African Gray Parrot are almost same in color and physical appearance. The only difference is that Congo African gray parrot has darker shades than Timneh gray parrot.

As the name suggest, African gray parrot is gray in color but its full tail is red and bills are charcoal gray and white background surrounds its

eyes. Its weight is around 380 to 550 grams and size is about 13 inches. African gray parrot is a little smaller in size than blue and gold Macaw.

African gray parrots are preferred as the pet parrots because they have the life of around 50 to 60 years. So they may stay alive with their owner throughout their lives. They are considered the best pet because their life span is three times more than any other pet.

African gray parrot is known for their talking abilit

ies and their intelligence as well. If trained well, they may have the maximum vocabulary as compared to any other parrot species. Sex is impossible to tell apart among its kind except if it under goes surgery, or through DNA tests.

Most rich families throughout the world like to keep pets that may stay with them as a family member for a long time. A bird with this long span of life is considered best as a family pet. They may be your companion in time of pain and grief.

One may sort out many reasons for condescendin

g Sales of the African Gray Parrot; let’s talk some of these reasons here:

1) African gray parrot is famous for its skill of mimicry.

2) It lives on common fruits, vegetables and nu

ts found in woods and one can easily get some food for this pet at home.

3) This parrot has the lengthiest life than any other parrot in the world.

4) These are the most intelligent parrots and can be taught human words easily.

5) Very faithful and devoted for its tendency to bond to only one person, when there were no chances of intermingling with different people.

Breeders of the African Gray parrot, in captivity, hand-rear them for the benefit of pet traders. Hybrid African Gray parrots are promoted on pet shops, on the websites and hardly ever by individuals who incidentally are forced to part with their bird due to unavoidable reasons in their lives.

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species has announced that the sale of all parrot "catch," direct from the forests is illegal.