ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE DAY # 4

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE DAY #4 

Our last day of meeting animal smarties takes us to the rainforests of Africa to find a very special bird. This bird is known to be very smart and great at imitating human speech.  Wonder if they can do a good elephant or horse impression?

MEET THE AFRICAN GREY PARROT!

   Range/Habitat: West-Central Africa/lowland rainforest and farmland

   Diet: Herbivore: fruit, nuts, leaves

   Length/Weight: 13”/14 oz

   Conservation Status: Common- Near Threatened

Fun Facts:

• African Grey Parrots are highly social birds that live in flocks.
• There are two subspecies (types) of African grey parrots: the Congo, who is larger and has a bright red tail and the Timneh, who is smaller and darker and has a maroon tail.
• When flying in large flocks African greys call to each other and communicate by flashing their bright red tails.
• They have a long life span. They can live up to 60+ years.
• They are highly intelligent and have been compared to human toddlers.
• African greys are highly vocal and are amazing at mimicking sounds and language!
• Alex is an African Grey Parrot that worked with Dr Irene Pepperberg and was known to do things such as sort colors, shapes and count! We’re going to write a separate post about Alex- he was a very special bird!

African grey parrots are very special birds! They’re very smart and social, a great combination! If you could teach a parrot to say one thing, what would it be? Ellie would teach him to trumpet like her! Alex the African Grey was a very famous parrot who could things we never thought parrots could do! Check out this short video! Unfortunately, Alex passed away, but the Alex Foundation continues research to show how smart parrots really are!