African Grey Parrot

African Grey Parrots

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Psittaciformes
Family:	Psittacidae
Genus:	Psittacus

Species

Psittacus erithacus
- Psittacus erithacus erithacus
  Congo African Grey
- Psittacus erithacus timneh
  Timneh African Grey

Reference: [1] (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177607)
as of 2003-01-02

An African grey parrot is a large parrot of the genus Psittacus native to Africa. As their names imply, grey parrots are predominantly grey, with accents of white and red in varying amounts depending on the sub-species. Greys, like all parrots, are zygodactyl[?], having 4 toes on each foot - two front and two back. They feed primarily on nuts and fruits, supplemented by leafy matter.

African grey parrots are renouned for their cognitive abilities[?], believed to have evolved due to their cooperative feeding on the ground in central Africa. In particular, Irene Pepperberg[?]'s research with african greys such as Alex[?] have shown that these parrots are capable of using human words with their human meanings, at least to some extent. This intelligence also creates a need for intellectually stimulating toys when african greys are kept as companion animals[?].