Grey parrot

Grey parrot

The grey parrot originates from the rainforests and other forest areas of West and Central Africa and is one of the largest parrots in Africa with a body length of approx. 33 cm and a body weight of up to 450 g. It is a typical tree dweller.

It is a typical tree dweller. Its habitat includes tropical rainforests, mangroves and wet savannahs. It likes to stay at the edge of the forests towards the open countryside, where it also visits cultivated land and gardens, but avoids human settlements.

The grey parrot prefers vegetarian food such as fruit (nuts, berries), seeds, flowers and buds. They are to be regarded as less specialised generalists. The parrots' main food sources are fruits and plant parts that grow on woody plants. Due to their climbing feet and the beak used for climbing, grey parrots are excellently adapted to life in treetops.

They form a family with a permanent partner, with whom they form a lifelong pair bond. They build their nests in tree hollows high up in the canopy. The male feeds and guards the female throughout the breeding season. And even after the young, which hatch from the egg after 30 days and are raised in the nest for a further 12 weeks, fledge, both parents continue to look after their offspring intensively for quite some time.

A particular threat is capture and trade. The IUCN assumes that populations are in decline. It has categorised the species as "endangered" since 2016. The causes of the species' decline include trapping for the international bird trade and increasing habitat loss.